The sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people living with HIV

Overview
As young people living with HIV get older they start to face new challenges related to their sexual and reproductive health and rights, such as desires to have sex, children and engagement in meaningful intimate relationships. Little attention has been paid to the specific needs, requirements and support young people living with HIV may need, to realise their sexual and reproductive health and rights. These may be considerably different for young people living with HIV, compared to young people not living with HIV, and there may be further differences between young people who acquired HIV vertically and have grown up living with HIV, and young people who acquired HIV horizontally, later in life. Moreover, there are a range of barriers to achieving these sexual and reproductive health and rights and accessing services that are greater or unique for young people living with HIV, compared to young people not living with HIV. Little is known about the sexual and reproductive health and rights, needs and experiences of young people living with HIV. This project contributes towards the understanding of these sexual and reproductive health and rights issues.
Objectives
- To map out and understand the policy context for Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRHR) of Young People Living with HIV (YPLWH) in Eastern and Southern Africa
- Understand the particular needs and experiences of YPLWH in achieving their universal SRHR in two countries
- Develop an understanding of existing interventions undertaken with YPLWH to improve their SRHR
Methodological approach
- Conducting a policy scan of selected countries to understand the opportunities and challenges embedded in the policy context for the realisation of YPLWH SRHR.
- An exploratory qualitative study, using participatory research methods to understand YPLWH’s experiences of accessing SRHR services and broader factors shaping their lives. This component of the research takes place in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
- A comprehensive review focused on behavioural interventions to improve the SRHR of young people living with HIV.