Praneeta Prakash 
[Source: Hope Across The Globe]
Education Minister Aseri Radrodro says they are ramping up efforts to combat the rising number of HIV cases among school-aged children.
This as a significant portion of the 2024 HIV cases have been linked to intravenous drug use, which now accounts for 55 percent of the total new diagnoses.
Radrodro says they are now prioritizing prevention efforts, including strengthening school-based education programs and reinforcing drug treatment and counseling support for students.
“After the launch yesterday, we’ve had a discussion with the Minister of Health and this is something that we will be working towards to ensure that proper awareness and proper lessons are provided to students in school in terms of mitigating the factors regarding the HIV increase in school.”
Radrodro says the Ministry is working to refine referral systems to ensure students who encounter drug-related issues receive proper counseling and treatment.
“I mean, there is a narcotics bureau that was set up last year and majority of our young kids are prone to this. We are also working with the NSAAC, our department within the Ministry of Education Facilities and we are trying to come up with avenues and trying to address the drugs by advocating to students in schools regarding the use of drugs. We have the systems currently in place but we need to improve on the current systems where children that are found with drugs are referred to the NSAAC team, our counsellors.”
While the Ministry of Health has not yet provided specific data for new HIV cases among the 15-19 age group, reports show that 50 new HIV cases were recorded among this age group in the first half of 2024 indicating a growing vulnerability among youth to both HIV and substance abuse.
