THE Latkings Outreach Program has this year tested 496 female pupils for HIV in two schools in Lusaka and Chingola districts of whom six tested positive.
Project manager Mutinta Ng’ambi said of the six that tested positive, three are from Lusaka district while the other three are from Chingola district. The pupils have since been put on medication.
Mrs Ng’ambi said the HIV test is conducted on pupils between the ages of 15 and 24 years.
She was speaking recently during an outreach programme held at Matero Girls Secondary School where 311 pupils were tested for HIV.
Mrs Ng’ambi said the overall goal of the project is to reduce new infections amongst adolescent girls and young women by 40 percent by the end of 2018.
“The project also seeks to help girls to be determined, resilient, empowered, AIDS-free, mentored and safe (DREAMS) through the creation of DREAMS clubs,” she said.
Mrs Ng’ambi said the organisation targets to conduct HIV tests on 600 pupils in Lusaka and Chingola districts this year.
“In Lusaka, DREAMS clubs have been established at Matero, Arakan, Kabulonga, Munali and Woodlands A Girls Secondary Schools. There are 17 clubs in these schools while there is also one set up in Kuku township,” she said.
Mrs Ng’ambi said in Chingola the DREAMS clubs, are at Buyantanshi Technical School, Naboonga, Maiteneke, Chikola, Nchanga Secondary and Chingola School for Continuity studies where there are 13 clubs of which three are out-of-school clubs in two communities, namely Kapisha and Chawama townships.
However, Mrs Ng’ambi said getting consent from parents to test children has been a challenge.
Latkings Outreach is a non-governmental organisation which focuses on mitigating the spread of HIV through the delivery of innovative value added mobile health care services, capacity building, networking and sensitisation programmes through behavioural change communication to the youths in