World Vision urges young people to focus on dreams

World Vision Malawi (WVM) and the Global Fund have reaffirmed their commitment towards helping young people to fight HIV/Aids.

Speaking to girl-leaders in Traditional Authority Mabuka in Mulanje, the Global Fund’s technical advisor for adolescent girls and young women interventions Hilary Nkulu, urged youths to use the knowledge they are acquiring through the programme.

She said young people need to make informed choices on sexual and reproductive health (SRH).

Nkulu said: “Mobility during peer-to-peer counselling visits and school fees for those rescued from child-marriages, are some of the areas which need urgent support from stakeholders.”

During the meeting, which attracted leaders from various sectors including political, faith and the community, WVM Global Fund grants chief of party Biziwick Mwale commended stakeholders for their consolidated efforts in addressing bottlenecks towards girls’ education.

“We’ve heard that some girls are in school while others are doing businesses, it is now important for the community to look within itself, especially in relation to various opportunities coming from the government, including bursaries”, he said.

Peer educator Regina Joseph observed that despite the milestones attained through the project in Mulanje under the guidance of Girls Empowerment Network, there are still other issues which need to be addressed.

Since the inception of the project, the number of young people attaining SRH services has increased by 10 per cent at Milonde Health Centre.

WVM, a principal recipient of Global Fund Grants on HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria has been implementing different interventions that have built capacity of young people in various trades of life since 2017.