YouThrive Together is a project that addresses the complex needs of underserved children, adolescents, young mothers, and children of sex workers living with HIV in KwaMashu and Durban City Central, KwaZulu-Natal.
Funded by Aidsfonds, the project seeks to bridge critical service gaps in HIV care by integrating holistic, community-based interventions.
The Challenge
KwaMashu Community Health Centre, serving a population of 750,000, faces significant challenges with a high paediatric HIV burden, teenage pregnancies, and difficulties in maintaining treatment continuity for children, compounded by societal stigma and economic hardship. These barriers result in delayed antenatal care and limited access to healthcare for young mothers and their children.
In Durban City Central, children of commercial sex workers are vulnerable to violence and HIV exposure. The criminalisation of sex work and systemic discrimination further restrict access to healthcare and safe practices for these families.
These complex challenges highlight the urgent need for targeted healthcare and HIV interventions to address critical service gaps, improve access, and support vulnerable children and their caregivers.
Who Are We Helping?
Young mothers and their children
Young mothers have limited access to antenatal and postnatal care resulting in missed opportunities for Early Infant Diagnosis, and essential maternal and child health care.
Adolescents under 14
This group faces multiple challenges in accessing adolescent-friendly sexual reproductive health and rights services, HIV testing, and contraceptives.
Children of HIV positive sex workers
These children face societal stigma and struggle to access the psychosocial support and specialised healthcare services they need.
The project also addresses the ongoing challenge of family-centred HIV disclosure for children and adolescents living with HIV.
Our Approach
Aligned to the Aidsfonds Kids to Care model that empowers communities to strengthen the links between communities and health facilities to find, test, treat, and retain children, and pregnant and lactating mothers, living with HIV.
We will:
Find
YouThrive Champions, who are trusted community members, will identify young mothers, adolescents under 14, and children of sex workers through community outreach, dialogues, and health education. This includes tracking children lost to follow-up, those with high viral loads, and pregnant mothers living with HIV.
Treat
Individuals who test positive will be initiated on ART and provided with tailored disclosure and adherence services to ensure they receive continuous support.
Test
Using adapted KidzAlive and YouThrive job aids, champions will refer beneficiaries to healthcare workers for HIV testing in stigma-free environments. Engaging, age-appropriate visuals will be used to support testing processes.
Stay
YouThrive Champions will conduct home visits to monitor retention in care, identify treatment barriers early, and facilitate peer support through support groups, creating a supportive community.
Partnerships
Lubanzi Ulwazi Resource Centre
A People Living with HIV (PLHIV)-led organisation, based in KwaMashu, KwaZulu-Natal, focusing on community mobilisation and advocacy to support vulnerable groups. PLHIV peers will act as YouThrive Champions, delivering outreach, support groups and door-to-door services to the children of young mothers and adolescents under 14.
Mothers for the Future (M4F)
A group of sex worker mothers who encounter unique challenges because of their profession. Supported by staff from SWEAT and Sisonke Sex Worker Movement, M4F focuses on engaging, empowering, and connecting sex workers and their children to essential services. M4F Buddies will act as YouThrive Champions, delivering outreach and door-to-door services to the children of sex workers in Durban City Central, KwaZulu-Natal.
eThekwini Department of Health
The partnership ensures that YouThrive Together aligns with broader public health goals and has access to necessary resources for sustainability.
Expected Outcomes
• Improved access to HIV testing, treatment, and retention in care for children living with HIV
• Enhanced support for young mothers and children of sex workers, addressing their psychosocial and healthcare needs
• Reduced stigma and improved quality of life for vulnerable children and families in KwaMashu and Durban City Central
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