Our Future Plans

A variety of programs and activities are employed to provide accessable, affordable and adequate health services to beneficiaries of different communities. Adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) have for a long time been neglected in HIV/AIDS programming. This has been caused by myriad of reasons of which one is that as long as the caregivers or the parent is receiving treatment, then the ALHIV is also assumed be receiving the same. Secondly, ALHIV are children growing up into adolescent stage of life and were never recognized as a special group in the past that needed help and support. Now we at HCBH have come to the understanding that no group should be left behind in the fight to end HIV by 2030. Adolescents are currently the least represented and covered in all programming especially HIV/AIDS projects where many see adolescents infections with HIV unbelievable. In 2022, approximately 480,000 young people between the ages of 10 to 24 were newly infected with HIV worldwide. Among them, 140,000 were adolescents aged 10 to 19. Globally, about 1.65 million adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 are living with HIV. They account for approximately 4% of all people living with HIV and about 10% of new adult HIV infections. Most of these HIV-positive adolescents reside in sub-Saharan Africa, with 85% living there. While HIV incidence has decreased in severely affected countries due to safer sexual practices and increased access to treatment, testing coverage remains below 25% for adolescents. Many young people living with HIV may not know their status, and boys are consistently less likely to be tested than girls. It is on these premises that Heart That Cares for Better Health is providing support to ALHIV and their Caregivers to help smoothen the transition period between Caregivers care to ALHIV independent care.