Michelle Rugamba

This session explored the needs of the community, specifically adolescents living with HIV, through a holistic lens. It highlighted evidence-based approaches that provide the building blocks for future scalable provision of comprehensive health services and social support. The session also focused on intersectional stigmas through a social justice lens.

This session focused on effective community interventions conducted in Uganda and South Africa aimed at reaching key adolescent populations. Lucie Cluver (South Africa) highlighted cost-effective interventions in Tanzania and Zambia designed for hard-to-reach adolescents such as adolescents with disabilities. Carmen Logie (Canada) touched on the importance of addressing the intersecting stigmas, including stigmas relating to sexual violence, gender inequality, LGBTQI identities, HIV diagnosis, refugee status, SRH, and sex work, to understand the needs of vulnerable populations in order to yield better outcomes. The most compelling presentation from this session was the pre-recorded video from Miriam Hasasha (Uganda), a young mother living with HIV, who spoke about her work in advocating for social change and working to empower fellow adolescent girls to make choices that will positively impact their lives. She also shared solutions for ensuring that young mothers are supported by health workers throughout their pregnancies and beyond. Furthermore, key findings from a study done in Jamaica with LGBTQ youth and young sex workers found that HIV stigma was linked with low treatment literacy, which created profound barriers to accessing and taking ARTs.

Key takeaway messages from this session include the fact that we must listen to young people. We must meaningfully engage youth as peer researchers and work with youth leadership organizations. We must also leverage the data we collect through qualitative and quantitative research. Young people have political power and will use this when they are given a platform and the opportunity to do so. We can do this through cost-effective interventions. Lastly, incorporating participatory art-based approaches and the complexity of stigma and technology can help address intersectional stigma, including adolescent SRH stigma, which is highly understudied.