MTV Shuga Evaluation

Overview

Comprehensive knowledge of HIV among adolescents and young people aged between 15 and 24 years is generally low, estimated at 47.9 per cent (Botswana AIDS Impact Survey, 2013). Progress in reducing new HIV infections among adolescents and young people is further constrained by intergenerational & transactional sex, peer pressure, stigma & discrimination, and gender-based violence. Barriers include entrenched harmful gender norms, gaps between policies and their implementation and inadequate resource allocation for prevention programmes. These factors call for strategic, relevant and appropriate interventions for adolescents and young people in order to reverse and mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS. Against this background and in alignment with the Third National Strategic Framework for HIV and AIDS in Botswana, UNICEF and the National AIDS and Health Promotion Agency (NAHPA) worked together from 2018 in Partnership with MTV Staying Alive Foundation to adapt the MTV Shuga Programme as a behaviour change communication strategy to help adolescents and young people adopt safe sexual behaviour by targeting key drivers of new infections and non-adherence to ARV treatment.

Report Details