THE Zimbabwe Red Cross Society has partnered with the Zimbabwe Health Interventions (ZHI) organisation to equip young women with nurse aid and HIV prevention skills, which will help curb the increase of HIV infections among adolescent girls.
This comes as the prevalence of new HIV infections among young girls and women in Zimbabwe had become a source of concern.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony yesterday in Gwanda, Red Cross secretary-general Elias Hwenga said young women should be protected from the HIV scourge.
“Red Cross in partnership with ZHI through the USAID funded DREAMS-RISE project has equipped young women with various knowledge on HIV prevention.
“The HIV prevention programme was targeting adolescent girls and young women aged 10-24. The main goal is to prevent new HIV infections amongst adolescent girls.
“The programme is also premised on the positive youth development programming framework designed to equip youth with key skills, including vocational skills training, work readiness or soft skills and technical skills,” Hwenga said.
He said in conducting the intensive training of adolescent girls and young women, they ensured that they underwent all the stages of training as well as the prerequisite three months of attachment at various health facilities.
“Through this partnership, we have managed to train 20 nurse aides in Mangwe District, 20 in Beitbridge and another 30 who are in the final stages of the programme,” Hwenga said.
According to Hwenga, the acquisition of basic first aid and HIV prevention skills is fast becoming a global trend after the realisation that lives were being lost needlessly when there were ways and means to save precious lives.
“In most instances the appropriate first aid measure is enough without overwhelming our hospitals and points of healthcare which should be left to deal and handle serious cases,” he said.