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In pictures: Youth groups battle HIV/AIDS

Ethiopian youth groups, partnered with the International HIV/AIDS alliance, use dance troupes to raise awareness.

Knowledge is critical in slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS.
By Sheikh Rajibul Islam and Benjamin Chesterton
Published On 1 Dec 20131 Dec 2013
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Despite recent adanvces in medical treatment, HIV/AIDS continues to be at crisis levels in many developing contries. Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 account for 40 percent of new HIV infections, with some 2,400 new infections among this age group every day.

In Ethiopia, sex education can be a taboo subject. To address the issue, several youth groups have formed dance troupes and hold public performances to raise awareness of the disease.

Addis Beza, one such youth group, performs regularly in public spots around Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, handing out informational leaflets and encouraging people to get tested for HIV free of charge in nearby mobile testing clinics.   

These clinics have been set up by the Organisation for Social Services for AIDS (OSSA), Ethiopia’s largest NGO working on HIV/AIDS, and it can attract up to one thousand people over the course of five days. If somebody is found to be HIV-positive, they are then referred to a local health facility for access to treatment, care and support.

The Beza youth group is one of many across Ethiopia supported by OSSA which, assisted by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, is now ramping up efforts to focus on young people between the ages of 15 and 24. Only one-third of young people in that age group have comprehensive knowledge of HIV.

Many adolescents and young adults have little knowledge about HIV or how it is transmitted.
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Forty percent of global HIV transmissions are spread by 15- to 24-year-olds. More than half of Ethiopia's population is in this age group.
In Addis Ababa, a youth group uses dance to encourage the public to get tested for HIV.
The dance troupe is called Addis Beza, which means "to live for others".
Every three months, the dancers conduct public performances in conjunction with truck testing clinics - where in one five-day period more than 1,000 people were tested for HIV/AIDS.
Addis Beza is one of hundreds of youth groups in Ethiopia helping young people to make well-informed decisions about their sexual health.
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Since many schools lack sex education, the youth club is used as a safe space to discuss issues such as the right age for intercourse.
Lack of knowledge among young people, often due to cultural attitudes, corresponds with low rates of contraception use.
Youth groups raise awareness by handing out information leaflets and encouraging people to get tested for HIV free of charge.
The youth club offers counselling services and free condoms for young people.


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