In Rwanda, the number of HIV positive adolescents has been steadily increasing, mainly due to the improved survival of children infected at birth benefitting from effective paediatric HIV care and treatment. However, HIV positive adolescents are not able to access comprehensive care, including ‘positive’ prevention and sex and reproductive health information tailored to their specific needs. They generally lack adequate psychosocial support to enhance their development and transition to adult roles and responsibilities. I am currently working within the HIV/AIDS section of UNICEF in Rwanda to address this issue. The project is focused on creating a peer education curriculum to be implemented at two UNICEF-supported sites within Rwanda. This life skills program will be run by HIV positive adolescents and is designed to provide psychosocial support and tools to help other youth cope with the challenges of living with HIV. My time in Rwanda has been spent conducting desk research, visiting clinics in the various project sites, facilitating focus group discussions with HIV positive youth and medical providers and writing the peer education curriculum.
