JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — The loveLife programme, a youth-focused HIV prevention initiative in South Africa, should be replicated in other parts of Africa as a best practice.
This view was expressed by UNFPA Deputy Executive Director Kate Gilmore after visiting the not-for-profit organization, which receives funding from UNFPA for its projects. She said she was impressed with its slogan, ‘Life if always on Play, never on pause’.
Ms. Gilmore was in the country last week to attend the 14th Meeting of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Board in Johannesburg.
loveLife promotes AIDS-free living among South African youths aged 12 to 19 by using a holistic approach to youth development and behaviour change, one that motivates adolescents to take charge of their lives to enjoy a brighter future.
CEO Grace Matlhape explained loveLife’s philosophy and emphasized that their vision was to help bring about an AIDS-free generation. If this was to happen, then South Africa needed to reduce the rate of new infections in young people and this was where loveLife came into the picture, she said.
Ms. Gilmore toured the loveLife call centre, a dedicated toll-free national helpline that provided sexual counselling and referrals for young people and parents. In 2009, the call centre became the first in South Africa to offer free counselling by allowing callers to send a “Please Call Me” (PCM). She also met some of the young people who were loveLife’s frontline ambassadors.
~ Rayana Rassool, UNFPA South Africa
