Health
Phenomenal Youths Association Pushes for HIV Awareness and Treatment Adherence
PHENOMENAL Positive Youths Association Executive Director Oswald Chisenga has emphasized that treatment adherence, alongside sustained HIV prevention and awareness programmes, is key to Zambia’s efforts to achieve its 2030 target of reducing new infections. Speaking to Mwebantu, Mr Chisenga said strides have been made to…
Picture: Mwebantu
PHENOMENAL Positive Youths Association Executive Director Oswald Chisenga has emphasized that treatment adherence, alongside sustained HIV prevention and awareness programmes, is key to Zambia’s efforts to achieve its 2030 target of reducing new infections.
Speaking to Mwebantu, Mr Chisenga said strides have been made to curb new infections, highlighting the role of comprehensive sexual education, youth-friendly health services, and biomedical prevention tools such as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP).
“It has mainly focused on comprehensive sexual education and HIV education, which were not taken seriously in the past years. By integrating HIV education into school curricula, it has really improved not only the information but also the knowledge and protective behaviours among young people and adolescents,” he said.
Mr Chisenga said his organization, which works with both HIV-positive and HIV-negative youth on HIV prevention, treatment adherence, peer-to-peer education, and awareness campaigns, is committed to supporting the country’s efforts to reach its 2030 target.
He called for strict adherence to treatment as a crucial way to reduce new infections.
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“We want to ensure that the people who are HIV negative maintain their HIV-negative status,” he said. “Those who are positive should maintain adherence, accept their status, and attain an undetectable viral load.”
He added that individuals with an undetectable viral load cannot transmit HIV sexually, underscoring the effectiveness of treatment.
However, Mr Chisenga expressed concern that stigma and discrimination remain major challenges, affecting disclosure and prevention efforts.
“Many people still believe that being HIV positive means their life has ended. That mindset must change because people living with HIV today can live healthy and productive lives,” he said.
He called for continued education, mental health support and community engagement to ensure the country sustains progress in the fight against HIV.
“We need to fight HIV as a community and ensure that the next generation is free from new infections,” Mr Chisenga said.
(Mwebantu, Saturday, 27th December, 2025)
Source: Mwebantu — Read more
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