Language-sensitive AIDS messages needed

A large number of young Namibians do not understand the terminology used in HIV/AIDS prevention strategies, media association PRNewswire reported on Tuesday. A recent study of 100 people aged between 15 and 25 revealed that common HIV/AIDS prevention terms such as "abstinence" or "faithfulness" were frequently misunderstood. Most young people believed "abstinence" meant "to be absent", and "faithfulness" meant faith in a religious sense, rather than being faithful to one sexual partner. The US Agency for International Development (USAID), which supported the study, found that while the word "monogamy" was understood by only one-quarter, 75 percent had never heard the word. "These findings are important as we develop an HIV/AIDS prevention strategy for Namibian youth. We know we have to craft programmes and messages that are sensitive to the issue of language," USAID Namibia health officer, C Kirk Lazell, said.