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Jamaican wins prestigious award at AIDS Conference

By Patricia Watson, Panos Caribbean

Toronto, 15 August 2006 (Panos) - A Jamaican project aimed at reducing the HIV infection rate in adolescents between the ages of 9-14 years old, was awarded one of the top prizes at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada on Monday, August 13, 2006. The project, which was developed by UNICEF, Jamaica, aims to bring youth friendly services, via a ‘Bashy Bus’, to vulnerable adolescents in high HIV/STI prevalence communities across, three parishes in Jamaica - St. Catherine, St. Ann and St. James.

Penelope Campbell, Project Officer with UNICEF, who developed the project in collaboration with Children First and Research Analysis and Associates, was presented with the International AIDS Society’s Young Investigator Prize for her work around women, girls and HIV/AIDS. The award carries a US$3,000 cash prize.

Ms. Campbell won the award from a field of 12,000 persons from around the world, who submitted abstracts on different projects to the conference organizers. She copped the prize for an initiative – The Bashy Bus.

Ms. Campbell was overwhelmed that she had topped the field of global contestants and said she will be donating the award money to Children First.

“I feel ecstatic! I am elated I was selected from a field of 12,000 participants, and this is the first time that UNICEF is winning such an award,” she said beaming.

Ms. Campbell explained the ‘Bashy Bus’ was developed after increasing reports about potentially risky sexual practices among young people in Jamaica, including the sex on the bus phenomenon, which was widely reported in the local media. Those practices include transactional sex, sex in public passenger transportation vehicles and sex between teenage girls and older male partners, which puts young girls at higher risk for HIV infection than their male counterparts.

The ‘Bashy Bus’, which is equipped with a laboratory and staff, offers voluntary counseling and HIV testing and usually target young people in neutral areas such as malls and shopping center where large numbers of them gather.

“The bus is an attempt to create a positive, adolescent friendly, mobile space in which young persons can learn positively about sex and sexuality,” Ms. Campbell stated.

She said the project was launched in September last year after a baseline study, which was commissioned by UNICEF, was done. Children First and Research Analysis and Associates also assisted in the project.

The baseline study revealed that of 450 adolescents between the ages of 10-19 who were interviewed, 48 percent were sexually active. The study also showed that more than 80 percent of the girls demonstrated that they were ready to begin having sex.

“A significant number of the girls were involved in sexual relationship with men who were much older than they were, the average age of their partners being 21 years old, while boys’ sexual partners were no older than 16 years old, on average. The early sexual initiation of the adolescent girls with older partners, limit their condom negotiating skills and they had a much higher incidence of forced sex,” Ms. Campbell disclosed.

She said the project was launched in September last year.

“The bus delivers information, skills based counseling, STI clinical services and HIV/AIDS rapid testing to Jamaica’s adolescents and youth,” Ms. Campbell explained.

She said the response to the ‘Bashy Bus’ has been very good.

“A large number of girls even come to us for things such as sanitary napkins. They say they are sometimes embarrassed when they attempt to purchase it at shops in their communities. The methods used to interact with the young people are very effective and they are responding,” she stated.

Ms. Campbell, who has been with UNICEF for approximately five years, will leave Jamaica to take up a position at the UNICEF’s regional office in Kenya, Eastern Africa next week.

"UNICEF is extremely proud of seeing one of its most talented staff recognized by the award of the Outstanding Young Investigator Prize by the International AIDS Society. Prevention among adolescents is absolutely key if we want a reverse in the spread of HIV in the world and especially in Jamaica,” Bertrand Bainvel, UNICEF representative to Jamaica said.

He said every adolescent must be given the right to know how to protect themselves from HIV, and this includes the right to know their status.

“The ‘Bashy Bus’ proves that it is necessary, feasible and effective. Primary prevention among adolescents is one of the four pillars of the Global Campaign on Children and AIDS along with reduction of mother to child transmission, access to paediatric treatment and support to children made orphans or affected by HIV.”

The 16th International AIDS conference is being held in Toronto, Canada, from August 13-18, 2006 under the theme, “Time to Deliver.” More than 20,000 delegates from around the world are attending the conference, which will highlight development, research and trends in HIV/AIDS.