Parents urged to prepare youth against HIV

MOROGORO: THE Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and HIV/ AIDS has urged parents to begin HIV prevention education at home, saying early guidance can help young people make informed decisions and protect themselves before joining higher learning institutions.

The committee’s Deputy Chairperson, Dr Zeyana Hamid, made the call during a visit to Kingolwira Health Centre in Morogoro Municipality, where members inspected a laboratory building constructed under the SATTF Project.

The delegation also inspected Digital Vending Machines (DVMs) intended to improve access to condoms and strengthen HIV prevention among young people and communities around Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA).

The committee further reviewed income-generating activities undertaken by a group of people living with HIV and programmes targeting adolescents and young women under the Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) initiative.

Dr Hamid said public institutions and other stakeholders needed to strengthen HIV prevention strategies and public awareness of available prevention methods.

“Parental guidance should start at home so that by the time a child joins a higher learning institution, they have already developed good behaviour and the ability to protect themselves against the risks of HIV infection,” she said.

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She also called for proper nutrition to be prioritised in HIV and AIDS interventions to help people living with HIV maintain good health and reduce their vulnerability to opportunistic infections.

The Executive Director of the Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS), Dr Adam Mrisho, said prevention programmes were targeting young people, particularly those aged 15–24 and 25–29.

He said the groups were being reached in different settings, prompting the implementation of HIV awareness programmes in higher learning institutions, mining areas, fishing communities and along major long-distance transport routes.

“We continue to coordinate and collaborate with the private sector and other stakeholders in implementing HIV and AIDS interventions, with the aim of reducing new infections and achieving the set targets, including those aligned with the National Development Vision 2050,” Dr Mrisho said.

Morogoro Regional Coordinator for HIV/AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infections and Hepatitis, Dr Shigela Marco, said the Tanzania HIV Impact Survey (THIS) for 2022/2023 put HIV prevalence in the region at 3.3 per cent.

He said prevalence was higher among women, at 3.6 per cent, than men, at 2.8 per cent. Council-level estimates as of December 2025 showed that Ifakara Town Council had the highest prevalence, at five per cent, followed by Morogoro Municipal Council at 4.4 per cent.

The estimates for other councils were Mlimba, 3.3 per cent; Kilosa, 3.2 per cent; Morogoro District Council, 2.6 per cent; Mvomero, 2.1 per cent; Malinyi, 2.0 per cent and Gairo, 1.5 per cent.

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