The Inkatha Freedom Party calls on government to ensure that HIV/AIDS Campaigns must also include street children as World AIDS Day is held on the 1st December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV.
“HIV is a serious problem among street kids, because many of them are too involved in drugs to even care. Street children’s lifestyles, living conditions and socioeconomic status expose them to a number of hazards including HIV/AIDS. We must recognise that due to the lack of schooling and high levels of drug use among street children, as well as the frequent practice of exchanging sex for food, drugs or protection, they are a group at high risk of contracting the disease. These children are most vulnerable because of the situation on the streets,” said Mrs Ncamisile Nkwanyana MPL, IFP KZN Provincial Spokesperson on Health.
“Reaching them is a challenge because you will never find them gathered in one place all the time, and we are of the view that there are no strategies currently that government can use to take services to them. Strategies for addressing street children’s vulnerability to HIV should include: increasing children’s knowledge about HIV and risky behaviours, as well as increasing their capacity to apply this knowledge and change their behaviours. Ideally there must be structures to remove these children from the streets and have them housed in a safe environment,” continued Mrs Nkwanyana.
“Authorities need to establish “non-judgmental, friendly services” to address the needs of marginalized adolescents. Children and adolescents living on the margins of society need access to health and social welfare services, not a harsh dose of disapproval. We must not rob them of their childhood. It is our responsibility that they have access to HIV prevention and treatment services,” concluded Mrs Nkwanyana.
The IFP wonders what the broader stop-AIDS community can do to help protect street youth from HIV.
Issued by:
Mrs Ncamisile Nkwanyana
IFP KZN Provincial Spokesperson on Health
078 302 3991
