Blind spots in the struggle against HIV and AIDS

There are almost half a billion people living in Eastern and Southern Africa of which 23.8% are adolescent boys and young men aged between 10 and 34 –this equals 117 million people. However, there is limited focus or information on boys and SRHR: “Whilst a variety of data does exist that measures the various sexual and reproductive health and rights needs of adolescent boys and young people, most of this data is collected through population based surveys and is not routinely collected. Also, either due to a lack of disaggregation or a lack of reporting, the data does not cover the full range of SRHR needs of adolescent boys and young people, especially when it comes to STIs, CSE, and prevention and treatment of sub-fertility and infertility, sexual function and satisfaction, and common risk factors” (A brief situational analysis of adolescents boys and young men’s SRHR in East and Southern Africa’ by Jonathan Hopkins –Sonke/UNFPA research underway).