(From left) Bertrand Bainvel, UNICEF representative, Carol Samuels of the Jamaica Coalition on the Rights of the Child , Miriam Maluwa, UNAIDS Country Representative in Jamaica, and Jan Voordouw, executive director of Panos, in discussion. The occasion was the launch of 'Our Own Voices - Youth Fighting HIV', a series of public service announcements (PSAs) aimed at promoting the rights of children living with the disease and reducing stigma and discrimination associated with the disease. The PSAs were written and produced by 25 youths who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. (Photo: Contributed)

TWENTY-FIVE young people who are either infected or affected by HIV/AIDS have produced a series of public service announcements (PSAs) entitled 'Our Own Voices - Youth Fighting HIV'.

The messages, which are aimed at promoting the rights of children living with the disease and reducing stigma and discrimination associated with the disease, were launched on Tuesday.

The twelve PSAs, which will be made available to all radio stations, were written by the youngsters and produced by Panos Caribbean, an organisation that helps the media to cover underreported development issues.

Panos Caribbean has been providing the young people, aged between eight and 20 years-old, with training in basic print journalism, sex and reproductive health issues and children's rights over the past nine months.

Patricia Watson, regional director of Panos Caribbean, said the messages in the PSAs were as a result of the young people's experience and points of view on the issues related to HIV/AIDS.

Throughout the training programme, Watson said the youths have been quite vocal about the way they are treated by adults, who they feel should know better.

"Among this group of people who they say should know better are teachers, policemen, doctors and nurses. Some of the things that made them [the children] sad, to a large extent, had to do with school, having to go to hospitals, dealing with death and generally treatment from the wider community," Watson explained.

Watson also told the Observer that the younger children attending Panos' child rights training workshop reported that they felt hurt whenever adults called them AIDS victims, scorned them, and made them feel less than important.The adolescents in the group listed discrimination, violence, insults and threats, lack of access to youth-friendly services and medicines and lack of family and community support as the factors that affected them the most.

Prior to the start of the project, Watson said research by the organisation revealed that children who were most affected by HIV were not integrally involved in activities geared towards helping them cope, hence the decision to engage the young people in this area.

"We wanted a programme that revolved around them and which dealt with the issues of major concern to them. The only stipulation was that the activities should be HIV-related, and that they agree to do some basic journalism and child rights training.

Meanwhile, Miriam Maluwa, UNAIDS country represen-tative in Jamaica, responding to the young people's concerns about a lack of youth-friendly services and medication, said the accessing of treatment by children is still a fundamental problem. The planning, she added, never really included how children would access treatment.
Also, issues like the specific dosage in Antiretroviral (ARV) children should take was never established at an early stage.

"The other problem associated with children accepting treatment is the issue of how do they access it separate and away from parents and this brings the issue of age of consent," she said. Currently, youth under the age of consent are not allowed to access health services without parental consent.

The issue of adherence has also come to the forefront, Maluwa noted, pointing out that there were not enough support mechanisms in place for children who are on the ARV drugs.

"When children are on treatment, they need the support for them to take the medication on time, everyday. But given the nature of the child, they will not remember to take it, so having a supportive environment remains a challenge," Maluwa added.

Up close with Heineken Green Synergy finalists

Merritone looks to the future

Beenie Man arrives late for function to honour athletes; apologises