Increase anti-retroviral adherence in Mozambique

Thank you for your continuous support! While our determination to contribute for a generation free of HIV is a huge task that will require everyone you know to get involved, we continuously do our activities because we believe even in small steps our work matters to the lives young boys and girls.

Would you be shocked to hear that the prevalence of HIV in our country is found to be higher amongst people that are informed and well educated? Why, one would wonder. Because we want to hear directly from students, teachers, rectors, psychologists within the university world, and health technicians in and out of the universities, we are going to start our first university campaign at UP; UP stands for Universidade Pedagogica, known for the university that accounts for most students registrations in our country.

We look forward to debating with students who are lucky to benefit from higher education, we will be interacting with student board members, health technicians within the university campus, while addressing the stereotypes, stigma and the tools it must take, for all to understand the imperative need there is, to change current sexual behavior to healthier choices and decisions that will lead the entire nation to healthier lives.

Our fist campaign in universities will start this upcoming October, we expect to interact with approximately twenty (20.000,00) thousand students, where they will be given our platform for their voices to be heard, as we aim to address and encourage this younger generation to get tested, adhere and remain in treatment as a way to take authority and control of own health and future, in what regards HIV.

The last five (5) months, our foundation have visited 26 schools in Maputo and other surrounding cities, were we have implemented interactive and educational games to spread the knowledge about HIV, how it starts, how one is infected and where to get counseling about it.

We have also taken up the initiative of using sports as a mobilizing and communication vehicle to teach sports, the values of it, and life skills associating with teachings about how to face some of the challenges young people face these days.

Sport has given us the platform to encourage exercise in everyone’s lives, healthy competition, discipline and winning attitude, as well as care and respect for own body as a necessary tool to move forward into conquering own dreams. Through sports, we have capacitated school principles, physical education teachers, student/athlete’s from our programs, as well as referees, and have them understand their role to spread the message and educate their own families and friends.

While is encouraging to see the excitement and camaraderie that sports brings, we do not loose focus of our main goal, to encourage behavior that will allow healthier lives, and with your help, we continue to educate through our project because we believe that the success of each young boy and girl in this world of our small part of Africa, Mozambique, starts with having good health and the right knowledge.

We look forward to sharing more about our work now focused on universities, where you will hear stories from the students themselves and some shared through social media and Media. We truly appreciate your donation and involvement.

Thank you!  We are almost there but the last funds to raise seem to be the hardest.  We are encouraged though to be so close to our target and being able to make a difference in Mozambican students lives! Please forward our project to anyone you feel may wish to be part of taking our Saber é Viver (To Know is to Live), HIV program to university students by reaching our fund raising target. University Rectors are ready for us to come!

Through someone knowing their HIV status and increased adherence to ARVs, comes the reduction of new infections. Did you know that if you are adhering to ARVs you reduce your risk of transmitting HIV infection by 96%?  That's almost 100% if you also use a condom. Did you know that it's safer to have sexual relations with a partner who is HIV+ and adhereing to ARVs than with someone whom you do not know the HIV status of?  Did you know that no-one in Mozambique need die of AIDS anymore as HIV testing and treatment is available to all, free of charge. Unfortunately, even well educated graduates don't know this information which is why our HIV campaign has the power to change the direction of HIV in Mozambique.

Mozambique's National Strategic Plan 2016–2020 set country targets that will contribute to the achievement of global commitments in the 2016 United Nations Political Declaration on ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. To reach targets set for 2020, Mozambique must decrease the number of new infections by 54%.

There are 148,000 Higher Education students in Mozambique, rising up to 280,000 by 2020. These students have the potential to be powerful contributors to the economic growth of the country. More families will have a bread winner who can lift them up economically and out of poverty.  However, without being empowered with health and HIV education, these graduates risk being educated, employable and positive contributors to society but may not be healthy enough to hold down a job or career.

Our university programme will be implemented funded by you will start in the 2 largest and first established universities:

The Eduardo Mondlane University (Universidade Eduardo Mondlane; UEM) which was established in 1968 as the Universidade de Lourenço Marques, is the oldest and largest university in Mozambique. The UEM has about 30,000 students enrolled, the majority of whom are national citizens.

The Pedagogical University (Universidade Pedagógica; UP), established in 1984, is one of Mozambique's principal universities. The main campus of the school is located in Maputo. There are over 16,000 students attending the UP system.

We will update you soon on the when our first activities with the Universities will be. Let's get those last $$ in so we can implement this program for the students, change lives and give better futures!

Links:

• Foundation Facebook page