By Charles Tjatindi
Windhoek
While Namibian youths are said to be depicting a high level of knowledge on HIV/AIDS, it would appear that much still needs to be done to make them change their behaviour and attitudes towards the pandemic.
Although most young people have the necessary knowledge about how to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS, they do not appear to be putting this knowledge into practice.
Instead, many young people New Era spoke to reveal that there is not much they can do to change their attitudes and ways of life, citing peer pressure amongst others. This state of affairs results in many of them believing in bizarre myths on HIV/AIDS that are doing the rounds.
Said Pro Uazire, a 23-year-old unemployed youth from Katutura: “There are so many myths going around, one tends to believe in them. We hear that AIDS is a propaganda tool by the whites to scare us from multiplying. We don’t know what to believe anymore.”
Uazire noted that stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS is partly to blame, as family members would tend to conceal that a relative has died of AIDS.
“All you hear is that someone died of TB, or natural causes instead of revealing the true cause of death. How can we curb HIV/AIDS if we are even scared to call it by name?” Uazire asked.
Abiud Katjirua, a primary school teacher at the Namibia Primary School in Katutura, noted that most HIV/AIDS interventions fail to reach people in rural settings, where soft prostitution is eminent.
“People there are doing prostitution. The mother would offer you her daughter for company if you provide for the family. They would simply say go to your ‘man’, don’t do that to your ‘man’, and the next thing they are in bed together,” he said.
Another youth pleaded with the Government to place restrictions on the number of alcoholic beverages adverts being aired, and printed in newspapers.
“How will you get the message on HIV/AIDS, if the immediate advert urges you to buy alcohol. They even have competitions where a lot of money is at stake, whereas HIV/AIDS has no monetary incentive”
Given the high rate of alcohol abuse among the youth, many of them are reported to be getting drunk and engaging in unprotected casual sex. Some would even collect condoms from bars, but apparently never use them. Men are said to be cunningly taking off condoms during sex, much to the peril of the unsuspecting partner.
Most youths, females in particular, called on HIV/AIDS campaigners to take to task workshop or conference facilitators who do not depict good morals, saying they confuse the minds of many youths.
“Someone would be teaching you how to protect yourself from HIV/AIDS, but then comes the night, he will be knocking on your hotel room. What kind of facilitator is that? Shouldn’t he be a role model for us to follow?” asked Nancy Shiwedha.