The Hub will have a mix of facilities and services that will provide for holistic development of young people and for the community at large with a special focus on HIV/AIDS.
Young people in Zimbabwe and the region continue to face a number of problems related to the high rates of new HIV infections especially among adolescent girls and young women, increased deaths among HIV positive young males, poor retention of learners in high school, high rates of sexual and gender based violence and high rates of unemployment.
During the launch of the Hub, SAT Executive Director, Mr. Jonathan Gunthorp said the centre is important and timely, because many young people in Zimbabwe and the Southern African region are getting into problems because of lack of access to information and other resources related to HIV.
“A lot of young people in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa at large have no access to up-to-date information regarding HIV/AIDS, the reason why we have established similar youth hubs in Zambia and Malawi so that we bridge that gap,” he said.
For his part, the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care, Honourable Aldrin Musiiwa, said the government of Zimbabwe puts the highest importance on the role of youth in the country which is why a number of laws have been promulgated to protect them.
“Youths are the future of our nation…which is why as a government we have passed a number of youth friendly policies and Acts of Parliament such as the Public Health Act, the Child Protection and Adoption Act and recently the Constitutional Court ruling on child marriages, all of which are meant to protect the rights of young people and make sure that they are not abused,” said the Deputy Minister.
Deputy Minister Musiiwa also acknowledged the support the Government of Zimbabwe has received from development partners such as the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and SAT in working with young people and encouraged young people to take full advantage of the Youth Hub and the programmes that will be offered.
The Guest of Honour, the Regional Director of SDC, Ms. Juliane Ineichen laid emphasis on how the Youth Hub will offer positive coping mechanisms to which young people could resort to in times of difficulties.
“The programs available at this Youth Hub will no doubt provide young people with opportunities to participate on a better footing and help transform their different communities,” said Ms. Ineichen.
She also stressed on how young people need to continue to invest in knowing their HIV status and once they know, they need to get on treatment. And once they are on treatment they need to adhere to it.
The SDC Regional Director said the long standing good relationship which exists with SAT and how the organization has produced tremendous results that have made it possible for young people to access youth friendly Sexual Reproductive Health Rights services and access HIV counselling and testing services in the region. Ms. Ineichen said SAT must share the best practices and lessons learned from the Zimbabwe Youth Hub with the rest of the region.
Misconceptions about HIV/AIDS still remain widespread among young people in Zimbabwe and according to a recent study by the UN; only 36 percent of adolescent males in Zimbabwe have comprehensive knowledge of HIV, while their female counterparts lag behind with just 20 percent of them having complete and accurate HIV information.
