Factors that help to mitigate how youths cope with the stigma attached to living or affected by HIV/AIDS

1. EMPOWERMENT SESSION
MITIGATING THE SOCIO-
ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF
HIV/AIDS ON OUR
YOUTHS
Presenter:
Karen McFarlane

2. ICEBREAKER
Fill in the Blank:
What does each acronym stand for?
H ______ A _______
I ______ I ________
V ______ D _______
S ______

3. BACKGROUND
HIV/AIDS has become an epidemic in Jamaica affecting the health and
wellbeing of the population. The scope of impact range from all social
classes, occupational groups, minority and vulnerable groups. Importantly,
HIV/AIDS is not only a health problem; it is a developmental issue that
impacts the social, cultural, political and economic sectors of our country.

4. PRESENTATION OBJECTIVES
• Define HIV/AIDS.
• How is the HIV Virus Spread?
• Identify ways HIV Cannot be Spread?
• Clear up misconceptions regarding how HIV is transmitted and
spread.
• Provide a brief overview of HIV and AIDS facts.
• Help youths understand basic concepts about how HIV
infection affects the body

5. WHAT IS HIV?
• HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus
that attacks cells that help the body fight
infection, making a person more vulnerable to
other infections and diseases.

6. HOW IS HIV SPREAD?
It is spread by contact with certain bodily fluids of a person with HIV,
most commonly during unprotected sex (sex without a condom or HIV
medicine to prevent or treat HIV), or through sharing injection drug
equipment.
It can also be spread through body fluids of a person living with HIV.
These body fluids may include:
• Semen
• Blood
• Vaginal fluid
• Breast milk
• Any other body fluids containing blood

7. WAYS HIV CANNOT BE SPREAD
• Air or water
• Mosquitoes, ticks or other insects
• Saliva, tears, or sweat that is not mixed with the blood of a person with HIV
• Shaking hands; hugging; sharing toilets; sharing dishes, silverware, or drinking
glasses; or engaging in closed-mouth or “social” kissing with a person with HIV
• Drinking fountains
• Other sexual activities that don’t involve the exchange of body fluids (for
example, touching, petting or fondling)
• Supporting a friend’s cake sale
• Buying food from vendors who are living with HIV, unless they get a cut and the
blood encounter the food you are buying.
The bottom line is, people do not get HIV from casual contact.

8. NATIONAL POLICY (HIV/AIDS)
The National HIV/AIDS Policy (Jamaica) presents
these guiding principles:
• Protect the rights of people infected with and affected by
HIV/AIDS.
• Promote individual responsibility for health and the practice of
healthy lifestyles.
• Reduce HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination.
• Create an enabling environment for improved access to
prevention knowledge, skills, treatment, care and support.
• Mitigate the socio-economic impact of the epidemic on youths.

9. SOME OF THE MOST
VULNERABLE GROUPS
• Youths and adolescents
• Inmates
• Street & Working Children
• Sex workers
• LBGTQ Community members

10. MITIGATING STRATEGIES AGAINST THE SOCIO-
ECONOMICS IMPACTS OF HIV FACED BY YOUTHS
• Conduct studies to determine impact of HIV/AIDS on youths, such
as, questionnaires and interviews.
• Develop and implement workplace polices to sensitize and eliminate
stigma and discrimination.
• Integrate HIV/AIDS workplace policies into corporate and
governmental plans.
• Facilitate the education campaigns using WHO, ILO, the National
HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy, and other HIV/AIDS sector workplace
policies.
• Facilitate access through the MOH in the treatment of persons
living with HIV/AIDS as priority.
• Advocate to prevent HIV screening as a prerequisite for employment
and/or termination of employment if an employee present a HIV
positive status.
• Incorporate the family unit in the education, treatment and care of
the youth affected or living with HIV/AIDS in Jamaica

11. REVIEW
True or False
1 ________ AIDS is a virus that can cause the immune system to fail
if left untreated.
2. ________ HIV is the virus that can lead to AIDS.
3. ________ You can have HIV without acquiring AIDS.
4. ________ Symptoms for HIV and AIDS are different for each
person.
5. ________ Modes of HIV Transmission are the ways that a person
can contract
6.______ HIV can be spread through saliva, sweat, and tears, or
coughing/sneezing.
7.______ Kissing always poses a zero risk for being exposed to HIV

12. Thank you for participating
“Be Tactful, Empathizing and Warm to all
whether you suspect that they are living with HIV
or not”
--Karen McFarlane--
QUESTIONS?????