Prevention of HIV/AIDS among Young People

Bangladesh

Save the Children carries out a nationwide HIV prevention campaign in Bangladesh.

Prevention of HIV/AIDS among Young People: Through a partnership with the Government of Bangladesh and funding from the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFTAM), Save the Children, as a managing agency, works through a wide range of implementing partners to prevent HIV infection among young people (ages 10-24).Working on a national scale, Save the Children and its partners have effectively reached 38 million youth in Bangladesh with HIV prevention messages, utilizing innovative approaches such as TV drama series, talk shows, and traditional folk shows. The program is also integrating HIV prevention education into secondary schools and higher secondary curriculum. Other activities to increase HIV prevention and enhance care and support services for youth include life skills education training, the development of youth friendly facility-based health services, and the provision of a social marketing program for condoms targeted to young people. In addition, Save the Children works to develop an enabling and supportive environment through advocacy and sensitization programs involving religious and community leaders, parents, and policy makers.

HIV Prevention and Control among High Risk Populations and Vulnerable Young People: Save the Children, in collaboration with the Government of Bangladesh and implementing partners, is targeting HIV prevention among those considered most at risk with an emphasis on vulnerable youth. Over the next five years this GFTAM project aims to provide harm reduction services for injecting drug users; care and support for the most affected communities (including female sex workers); information and life-skills support for garment-industry workers; and capacity building for implementing partners and government institutions. Save the Children will also scale-up existing advocacy and HIV awareness efforts, while advancing the development of national standards for Youth Friendly Health Services and the implementation of HIV education curricula.