Stop the Cycle of HIV: Support Women and Children!

At 17, *Tendo* is learning that living with HIV does not have to limit her dreams, friendships or future. 

For adolescents living with HIV, staying consistent with medication can be challenging, the demands of adolescence, stigma, concerns about disclosure and the desire to fit in can all affect engagement in HIV care. This is why adolescent-friendly and integrated approaches to HIV care are important. World Health Organization recommends approaches that combine HIV services with psychosocial and sexual reproductive health as well as meaningful peer engagement.

At Alive Medical Services (AMS), Tendo became part of a 7-week integrated sports program designed to support young people living with HIV who are challenged with viral load suppression.

The program uses sport as an entry point for health, connection and support. For Tendo, the sessions created a space where she could participate in physical activity, interact with her peers and receive support in a space that felt engaging and youth friendly. Besides the sporting activities, the program provided opportunities to strengthen her understanding of HIV treatment, medication adherence alongside Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).

Rather than viewing adherence as simply taking a tablet every day, the program helped Tendo understand how staying on treatment connects to her overall health and the future she wants for herself. “I want to be a nurse, just like the ones I see here at Alive Medical Services, they are good and caring ladies.” Tendo shares.

The program also gave her an opportunity to engage with peers who understood some of the experiences that come with growing up while living with HIV. This sense of belonging helps make conversations around HIV, treatment and SRHR more open and supportive. For Tendo, this experience became a turning point.

She began taking greater ownership of her HIV treatment and became more consistent with her medication and with continued support from the health workers and adherence to her treatment, her health outcomes improved.

Today, Tendo is virally suppressed and continues to adhere well to her HIV medication, her progress reflects the importance of providing young people with care that responds to more than their clinical needs.

For Tendo, the journey was not just about achieving a viral-load result, it was about gaining confidence, understanding her health and discovering that HIV does not have to define her identity or her future.

These outcomes are made possible through funding partners and opportunities such as GlobalGiving, whose support helps organizations like Alive Medical Services reach young people with innovative, youth-friendly approaches to HIV care. Every contribution creates an opportunity for another young person like Tendo to stay on treatment, achieve viral suppression and look toward the future with confidence.