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Youth changing youth through Ghana YMCA HIV/AIDS programme

You can’t enjoy a toffee in a wrapper... AIDS is brought by monkeys... sex with a virgin will cure you... AIDS has been around for a long time, and

You can’t enjoy a toffee in a wrapper... AIDS is brought by monkeys... sex with a virgin will cure you... AIDS has been around for a long time, and we are all going to die sometime anyway... it stands for American Idea of Discouraging Sex...

These are some of the stereotypes and myths still abounding, that the young peer educators in Koforidua, in the Eastern Region of Ghana, are debunking through their interaction with their friends, classmates and family.

The HIV prevalence rate has been steadily increasing in the Eastern Region, with the last official figures putting it at 4.5%, in comparison to the national official figure of 1.9%. Of concern is that 90% of new infections are in the 15-49 age bracket.

Daniel Ofosu, Eastern Regional Secretary, said the high prevalence rate can be attributed to many factors. “The towns in this area are more rural and there is a lack of education on HIV and AIDS, coupled with belief in myths. Further, the area is bordered by four other regions and there is much throughput in the area. Many people leave here and travel to Abidjan, in Côte d'Ivoire, to seek greener pastures, either coming back regularly to visit or returning after spending some time in the country. Côte d'Ivoire has the highest HIV prevalence rate in West Africa and we think this may be having a major impact on the increase of infection rates in the Eastern Region.”

The peer educator model is a central part of this national Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH) programme, which is now in its fourth year and is funded by the YMCA of Greater Toronto and CIDA Canada.

School and tertiary education students are trained and supervised over a number of years before they graduate to become peer educators. In Koforidua alone, 700 peer educators have been trained and are active. A group of tertiary education youth and two peer educators shared some of their experiences.

“I used to be involved in certain... um... activities. This programme has helped me so much, as with proper knowledge, I have changed my behaviour. I know how to protect myself through using condoms. I have been working with about 150 of my peers, and I would say most of them have benefitted and have changed,” said Lucy Karamah.

Most of the students testified that they had little knowledge of HIV/AIDS before this programme and told of how it had benefited them, how their behaviour had changed, and the extent to which they are using this knowledge and personal change to encourage their peers to do likewise. One of the young women said she had now started taking control of all personal hygiene issues, such as not sharing razors.

Peer educator, Adams Prince, who is the national youth representative for the Eastern Region, told of a family intervention. He said he had visited a house where the father was very quiet throughout the discussions. But the next day, he asked Adams back and he had invited all his neighbours to come and be educated. “This man thought his daughter was going with boys but he did not know how to discuss this in the family. After my visit and discussion with them, his daughter came to him and admitted what she had been doing and said that now that she had knowledge, she was putting a stop to it. He was then able to talk to her.”

Angelina Mensah said, “I was dating a guy and he had three other girlfriends at the same time! Eventually I found out and when I quit him, I told him: ‘HIV/AIDS is real so you better start protecting yourself’.”

Gender power dynamics play a big role in their
discussions and work with their peers. Mavis Gbedeme said that boys often say: “Why should I use a condom with you? Are you a street girl?”, making reference to prostitution.

Bismark Dzisah, said he often hears the phrase “you can’t enjoy a toffee in a wrapper”. But he also pointed out that through his work with the youth, he has realised that many young men simply do not know how to use condoms.

Joyce Dede explained, “Financial constraints make young girls and women vulnerable. They are sponsored by their boyfriends who pay for school fees.” In cases like this, these young women feel indebted to their boyfriends and unable to exert their want to practice safe sex. Joyce said that she has been working with one young woman for a while now and it is really difficult for her to change things in the relationship.

They were asked: if you were dating someone and wanted to have sex with them, but then found out the person was HIV-positive, would you still have sex with the person? Four out of 12 said ‘yes’ but definitely with protection. One person said it would depend on how much she loved the person. The other seven said ‘no’, with five saying they would remain friends, counsel or care for the person. Blessed Ohene, who is past national youth organiser for the Ghana YMCA and a peer educator, went as far as to say, “I would go with them to counselling to make the break-up easier.”

As a teacher, Blessed says he spearheads any HIV/AIDS campaign that happens at school. “I use every opportunity possible to speak to young people about HIV/AIDS.

By: Gil Harper, Executive Secretary: Communications, Africa Alliance of YMCAs

posted onWednesday, April 21, 2010