The Progress of Nations 2000

COMMENTARY: SPEAKING OUT ON AIDS

I

ab)out how to protect themselves
from HIV infection.
There is so much that needs to
be said.
We must speak al)out the high
risks our mothers and sisters
face of contracting this disease;
their risks are higher than men's
and boys'. Girls and women are
extremely vulnerable. Physiologically, they become infected
more easily than men, an(d social
pressures, cultural p)ractices, vio
lence, repression and prevailing
values and behaviours make it
difficult or even impossible for
them to protect themselves. We
cannot, with clear consciences,
keep quiet about this. We must
help women understand their
rights and risks, and we need to
support them when they exercise
their right to take control of their
sexuality and( their bodies.
As individuals, we must speak
of the need to change behaviour.

It is suicidal to have numerous
sexual partners. The message
must he repeated again and again
in as many ways as necessary that
the surest protection against
HIV infection is either abstinence or practising safe sex and
limiting one's sexual exposure.
All those who are sexually active
must take full responsibility for
their actions an(d health and use
condoms to prote(t themselves
and others.

Equally, we must dispel the
negative myths surrounding life
with AIDS. As with many HIVpositive people, Fela was ill for
several years, and he was lucky to
have a family that loved andl
cared for him through the (lifficult times of his sickness. But
many people who are HIV positive are ostracized and treated as
outcasts, or worse, h y their own
communities. Far more often
than we would like to admit, chil
My voice counts too
By Hortense Bla Me

HIV/AIDS now outranks every other disease as the top killer in Africa. The
continent has lost nearly 15 million people to AIDS since the early 1980s,
and its children are the majority of the 10.4 million children below the age
of 15 who will be orphans by the end of 2000 because of AIDS.
It is a dreadful toll, and the worst is yet to come as infection rates double
and triple in other parts of the world. The figures make a compelling case
for more resources, clear high-level commitments, fresh and innovative
approaches, and shared expertise in dealing with this gargantuan and complex
challenge. In Africa, using peer education to reach adolescents and youth
is one strategy with unlimited potential. As this young AIDS campaigner
from Cote d'Ivoire says, youths can be the most effective communicators
for behavioural change, especially when they are involved in creating and
disseminating the messages.

per cent of the populationi is
seropositive. This infection rate
has a direct and im nediate iulpact on children: 320,000 chil(ren in C te d'Ivoire will have
lost their mother or loth parents
to AIDS hv the end of 2000.
I believe that to overcome tlhe
crisis of AIDS evervybody must
be involved, particularly the youth.
In C3te (d'Ivoire, we are trying
through youth organizations sulch
as the Parlemenlt (les Enfafnts
(Children's Parliament) to bring
a youth perspective to solving
the problemns facing the countrv.
At the same time, we are changing the perception that youth are
a source of these problems.
On the contrary, we are part
of the solution. We have many
talents and skills. We have a keen
sense of the problems in our
societies. More significantly, we
can communicate effectively with
others our age.
Those of us in the Children's
Parliament have foun ( that young

sp)eak for those chil(dren
and adolescents whose
tremendous potential to
influence society has not
been fully harnessed, with
tragic results. If recognized, this

potential can turn the tide against
the relentless death march of
HIV/AIDS.
The disease has infected more
than 34.3 million people in the
world to d(late, about a third of

whom are youths between the
ages of 15 and 24. Every minute,
six young people b)elow the age
of 25 become infected with IIIV.
In my country, Cate d'Ivoire, we
are told that app)roximately 11

Hortense Bla Me, age 19, is the President of the 100 member Children's Parliament in C6te d'Ivoire, which she joined at age 13. She
is an active promoter of the rights of children and young people and especially of youth involvement in HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns.