As the pressure for better living conditions rises in the camps in the Harad district of Yemen, UNAIDS seeks to raise HIV awareness among displaced youth.
The Harad camps host more than 130,000 people affected by long civil unrest in Yemen. To survive, many people walk the seven kilometers to the boarder of Saudi Arabia, hoping to cross into a country that is seen as having more economic opportunities. But most people are not aware of their increased vulnerability to HIV affection as they sometimes resort to high-risk behaviors to meet their basic needs.
Local authorities are concerned about the lack of HIV information and have partnered with UNAIDS and the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to start an HIV awareness raising programme for displaced people.
The programme consists of awareness-raising sessions on HIV, sexually transmitted infections and life skills to enable young people living in the camps to protect themselves from HIV. Also, as part of the programme, 20 male and female youth peer educators from the camps as well as the host communities will be trained on HIV prevention. Sensitization sessions with religious and community leaders and local council members will also be conducted to eliminate the stigma and discrimination as well as the gender based violence faced by people in the camps. Finally, HIV voluntary counseling and testing services will be provided jointly with the awareness raising activities.