Transcript:

Duration: 2min 39sec

KHOPOTSO: For many South African youth, HIV prevention and awareness messages are almost like slogans, or the punch line that sells the latest fashionable item. But knowledge of the message doesn’€™t always translate into a lived awareness of what it means.    

LESEGO MANGOENYANE: The message is out there. It’€™s loud and clear. It’€™s just that the youth is ignorant.

KB: Ignorant?

LM: They don’€™t believe that HIV/AIDS is out there.

KB: Why is that? Why are they holding that belief?

LM: It’€™s probably because they haven’€™t seen a young person around their age group who has HIV or AIDS.

KB: That’€™s Lesego Mangoenyane, a Grade 11 pupil at John Orr Technical High School, in Johannesburg. Her school friend, Mbali Dlamini, shares her view.

MBALI DLAMINI:  Most people that we see that are infected with HIV/AIDS are older people. But someone our age ‘€“ it’€™s just not real or whatever.

KB: Prof. Leickness Simbayi is the Research Director in the Human Sciences Research Council’€™s   Behavioural and Social Aspects of HIV and AIDS division. How does he respond to Lesego and Mbali’€™s argument?      

LEICKNESS SIMBAYI: That is true. That’€™s part of the challenge with HIV prevention because it takes up to 7 ‘€“ 10 years before somebody actually dies from HIV related illnesses’€¦ Indeed, the fact that the highest prevalence rates are among people in the 25 ‘€“ 30 year age group, probably suggests that most of them were infected when they were young’€¦ For example, I’€™ve visited cemeteries in Lusaka and I’€™ve seen evidence whereby the bulk of the people who are buried being in the ages from 25 ‘€“ 35’€¦ Those people should have been infected when they were young’€¦’€

KB: Simbayi says the likely introduction of a public sector anti-retroviral treatment programme in response to the AIDS epidemic could potentially help break the stigma and silence surrounding HIV.

LS: Some of the evidence from other countries, primarily in America, seems to suggest that really when there is a treatment service people are at least willing to go and get tested. And once they know their status some of them are coming out. I think the challenge in South Africa is’€¦ for young people, given the reasons that’€¦ it takes a little while for them to actually find out about their status or particularly to get to the AIDS status, it will require, perhaps, role models – like in the sports or entertainment world ‘€“ to actually come out when they decide to. At least, those would be role models young people would identify with.                              

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