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Things take a positive turn for KZN's youth
Patrick Leeman. 26 March 2004. The Mercury. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
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HIV/AIDS infection rates of people aged between 15 and 24 in KwaZulu-Natal have dropped, according to the Medical Research Council.
This was an indication that information about safe sex and behaviour change was getting through to young people, said the council's Mark Colvin at a seminar arranged by the institution in Durban on Thursday.
Colvin, a specialist scientist in the HIV Prevention Unit of the council, said the most recent survey conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council showed that people aged between 15 and 24 in KwaZulu-Natal had the second-lowest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the country.
He said that, according to the latest national government study on the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in pregnant women under the age of 20, figures had dropped between 2000 and 2002.
In 2000 the figure was 16,1 percent, while in 2001 it was 15,4 percent, and in 2002 it was 14,8 percent. These statistics had been recorded at state-run ante-natal clinics.
Colvin said it appeared that there had been a behaviour change, particularly in KZN, as far as HIV/AIDS were concerned.
"What we must do now is put other interventions in place, such as anti-retroviral drugs," he said.
Ronald Green-Thompson, Superintendent-General for Health in KwaZulu-Natal, said that, while the news was good, he remained "guarded" about the situation.
He said it was too early to say whether the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the province had been contained.
Green-Thompson said it was important for the health authorities to continue with their educational programmes to avert the spread of the virus.
While it was estimated that 22 percent of the population was infected in the province, it was important to note that the majority - 78 percent - were not, and every effort should be made to ensure that these people stayed that way, and that the gap should be closed.
A spokesperson for loveLife said that the organisation was encouraged by the national drop in the HIV/AIDS statistics for pregnant women under 20 and by the fact that the situation for pregnant women in the 20 to 25 age group was stabilising.
However, he warned against unwarranted optimism. Many of the figures in regard to HIV/AIDS in the province were still among the highest in the country, the spokesperson said. |
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