Raising HIV awareness among youth in Djibouti
Najwa Mekki, UNICEF
© UNICEF/2010/Indreiten
Young men and boys playing babyfoot, a.k.a. table football, near a center for HIV awareness in PK 12 neighborhood on the outskirts of Djibouti Ville, Djibouti.
DJIBOUTI VILLE, Djibouti (July 9, 2010) — In the scorching heat of a June morning, boys and young men from the PK 12 neighborhood, on the outskirts of Djibouti Ville, are gathered in front of a large container competing in a game of babyfoot, a.k.a. table football.
Across the street, dozens of trucks are parked at the PK 12 road station, waiting for their papers to be processed before resuming the journey to Ethiopia.
PK 12, whose name refers to the distance separating it from the capital Djibouti, is home to some 25,000 people. Nearly 700 to 800 trucks use this corridor to travel between Djibouti and Ethiopia every day.
Countering HIV infection
© UNICEF 2010/Mekki
The PK 12 neighborhood is home to one of the most vulnerable communities in Djibouti.
The daily presence of truckers and their significant purchasing power, here in one of Djibouti's most vulnerable communities, has made risky behaviors more common. Among them: chewing the mild narcotic known as khat and trading in drugs and prostitution.
In this country of around 850,000 people, HIV has reached epidemic levels. An estimated 16,000 people currently live with the virus, more than half of them, or nearly 9,000 are women, and over 1,000 are children.
Among young people in Djibouti, only half of the males and a quarter of the females aged 15 to 24 say they used condoms during their latest instance of higher-risk intercourse.
Counseling and recreation
To raise HIV awareness among young people in PK 12, UNICEF is working with partners USAID and Family Health International to provide counseling and recreational activities.
As part of this effort, container has been converted into a center where both the truck drivers and young people from the community can learn about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
"We reach out to young people here to teach them how they can protect themselves, through puppet theater, films and interactive activities," says Filsan Abdi Osman, Program Assistant at Family Health International. "We also reach out to the truck drivers to tell them where to go for voluntary HIV testing and treatment."
In 2009, with UNICEF's support, some 48,000 people benefited from services provided at the center.
Educating women and youth
But some people—particularly young women—are still reluctant to know their HIV status because of the strong stigma attached to the virus. That's why the center has solicited the support of peer educators from the community who can help reach out to other young people.
Said Abdo Ali, age 22, is one such educator. Unemployed, like almost half of the population of Djibouti, he volunteered to help his peers know about the risks of unhealthy behaviors.
Said works with a group of young boys who are out of school, organizing awareness-raising sessions for them and screening documentaries about HIV risks and prevention methods.
"I also organize chats with the young so that we can openly discuss these issues, and I take them on guided tours of the health center where HIV testing services and treatment are provided," he says.
Three years after his volunteer experience began, and despite the lack of financial incentives, Said's engagement with members of his community has not wavered.
