Lucy Wanjiku Njenga

Laws and policies that uphold high ages of consent to access HIV testing and treatment, contraceptives and PrEP use are a hindrance in many countries. Adolescents bear the brunt of these punitive laws that limit their autonomy over access. The session consisted of experience sharing to learn more.

Only 22% of countries have adopted optimal age of consent policies. Thus, there is an urgent need to reform and amend these laws and policies. These age-related barriers prevent adolescents aged 10-19 from seeking HIV services such as testing, treatment and PrEP. UNFPA recommends setting 12 as the age of consent for HIV services. “If we are saying that the youngest mother is 9-years-old, and she is not given information, services and products that would see her protected, then there is a disconnect.” Jerop Limo, Executive Director of AYARHEP commented. The lack of harmonisation and alignment of the age of consent policies result in adolescents being sent away from facilities and denied services that they need. Often, health workers have to send them away as the laws limit the services they are able to offer, even when they see the young person could benefit greatly. Knowledge gap was identified as one of the issues that saw the laws remain the same as the different players and stakeholders including parents, religious leaders, policy makers, health care workers and the adolescents are not talking to each other. Yet new HIV infections among adolescent and teenage pregnancies keep rising.

The report, Unlocking Access: Reforming HIV Age of Access for Adolescents in Africa, related varied findings that show the importance of making laws and policies work for adolescents if countries want to see a shift in the trends of HIV prevention, testing and treatment. The recommendations, such as aligning laws and policies on the age of consent, training and retraining healthcare providers, addressing data gaps, implementing and developing services and delivery models that respond to adolescent needs, would greatly benefit countries, especially those in the Global South.