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Background: Worldwide, a large proportion of all new HIV infections occur in people under the age of Aims: Explore and describe the roles of the local role players in the implementation of the school-based HIV and AIDS prevention programmes in local high school settings. Settings: The study was conducted in the Bushbuckridge local municipal area in Mpumalanga Province. Methods: A qualitative, explorative, descriptive design and contextual study was used.
Individual interviews and focus group interviews were conducted with the purposively selected participants from the clinic, health centre, high schools and community members. Results: Although all the local role players were found to have important roles to play in the implementation of the school-based HIV and AIDS prevention programme, gaps exist in the rendering of youth friendly services YFS ; accessible clinic times; HIV and AIDS education; life skills education; Life Orientation LO and health education; information sessions; counselling; school health programmes; campaigns as well as collaborative working strategy.
Conclusion: Successful development and collaborative implementation of the school-based HIV and AIDS prevention programme can result in significant changes in knowledge and attitudes that affect sexual behaviour of young people, leading to significant decrease in HIV infection among young people. Keywords: role players; implementation; school-based HIV and AIDS prevention programmes; reproductive health services; social ecological model.
In , it was estimated that The prevalence of HIV amongst adults was 0. Also, in , there were approximately 1. In spite of this decline, much more needs to be performed to improve the knowledge of HIV as well as HIV testing amongst adolescents and the youth. However, such prevention programmes have not reduced the infection rate in South Africa, especially amongst the youth. The WHO associated an increase in HIV infection among women aged between 15 and 24 years with various social factors as well as insufficient access to education and sexual and reproductive health services SRHs.
