Youth initiative teaches Umlazi girls about HIV prevention

Girls between the ages of 10 and 19 gathered at the Ezibomvini Ground in uMlazi's D Section today, where programme ambassadors, change drivers and NGOs were on hand to encourage the girls to protect themselves and their futures.

Peer pressure can have negative connotations, but it is exactly what the South African government and the United States’ President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) are using to create a new generation of empowered young South African women. 

Statistics show that 2 000 adolescent girls are infected with HIV every week in our country.

Campaign ambassador, Murriel Madondo says peer pressure is one of the main reasons why young girls and women fall pregnant and/or contract HIV.

"Peer pressure is a big problem for girls who want to interact - who don't want to be like themselves, they always want to be somebody else. So in a way, we're trying to stop that; as ambassadors - to encourage them through their families, and through schools, and their peers - most of them they don't have that encouragement," she said.