News
More youth with HIV stir call for behaviour change and testing
View(s):By Chrishanthi Christopher
Alarming data about Sri Lankans living with HIV have thrown the Health Ministry into panic, cautioning the youth to be careful with their sexual partners.
The Std/Aids programme, which commemorated World Aids Day on December 1, issued a warning that those engaging in casual sex should know who their partners are.
Statistics released by the STD/AIDS programme for 2022, revealed that about 50 young people, including 14 university students and three schoolchildren, between the ages of 18 and 25 years have tested positive for HIV. Last year, 25 young people were detected as infected. 
The total number infected had doubled, with 342 testing positive in 2022 compared with 148 in 2021, in the first six months of both years.
Also, 282 people have been infected with the virus in the first half of this year, with 25 dying of AIDS and AIDS-related causes.
In total, 3,600 people have been reported with HIV for the past several years, of which, only 2,600 continued to receive treatment.
The director of the STD/AIDS programme Dr. Rasanjali Hettiarachchi attributed the increased numbers to the scaling up of testing among the key population, which includes female sex workers, ‘beach boys’, and homosexuals.
This year, the introduction of self-testing kits also helped detect infected people early. Early detection can help control HIV and help people live longer. However, there is no cure and suppression treatment is for life.
UNAIDS said the coronavirus disease pandemic had been a damper on reaching its ambitious target of 95-95-95% in preventing and treating AIDS by 2025. This means, 95% of all people living with HIV to know their HIV status, receive sustained antiretroviral therapy, and have viral suppression by year 2025.
UNAIDS this year has set ‘equaliser’ as its theme focusing on bridging inequalities in treatment coverage as one of the many obstacles is the stigma, which deters many from seeking early treatment.
In Sri Lanka in recent times, many young people who had lost their jobs have joined the sex trade, unable to make a living. They find partners online and end up having casual relationships with strangers. Often, they indulge in unprotected sex.
The community physician STD/AIDS programme Dr. Janaka Weragoda acknowledged that the STD/AIDS statistics was only the tip of the iceberg.
He called on those who have indulged in casual sex to immediately get a test through the ‘known4sure’ programme. This is designed to confront injustices that impede the fight to eradicate AIDS by providing self-testing kits and condoms in 32 outlets and in hospitals. Also, those who want privacy can get self-test kits couriered to their doorstep.
The Family Planning Association (FPA), a partner in the programme, is working with the police to reduce the stigma and to sensitise them on fair law enforcement in key population which discriminates the LGBT+ (lesbians, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and others ) communities, disregarding their human rights. The FPA also works with medical officers of health in Gampaha and Colombo carrying out advocacy to
inform police on how the virus spreads among them.
The police have been asked to treat youths as equals and as normal human beings avoiding discrimination and injustice. This would give them the confidence to seek treatment early. The FPA is distributing condoms and self-testing kits in the two districts. The kits are being sold in pharmacies, too.
Commemorating the World Aids Day, the FPA introduced a social media community voice campaign to create awareness in Gampaha and Colombo on the need for HIV testing, prevention methods, and accessing treatment. Celebrities are lending their voices.
Deputy director Nadika Fernandopulle, in charge of the HIV programme, said Sri Lankan culture is contributing to the increase in infections among young people. Parents fail to talk about ‘sex’ with children.
It is understood that many youths who visited the FPA had remorsefully said that if only their parents had warned them, they would have been more careful.
The education system is also partly responsible for ignorance among youths. The FPA said that although sex education is in the school syllabus, it is not taught in classrooms.
“Teachers have not been trained to disseminate the information appropriately to students,’’ Ms Fernandopulle said.
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