Lowering the AIDS Risk for Teens


	“Prevention is the strongest demonstration of love a person can display to another person,” says Silvana Gomes dos Santos, a co-founder of Associação Londrinense Interdisciplinar de AIDS (ALIA). Knowledge Is Power According to a survey of 600 adolescents from the impoverished São Jorge community in the Brazilian city of Londrina, 60 percent do not use contraceptives and 30 percent have used illegal drugs. To protect these vulnerable teens from infectious diseases, ALIA began the Saber para Reagir (To Know Is to React) program. The program’s workshops educate 80 participants at a time about sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV/AIDS), early pregnancy, correct use of male and female contraceptives, and citizen rights. In addition, monthly meetings with families in the community spark dialogue and empower their involvement in the education process. “Without family, we will not be successful,” says Santos. Saber para Reagir is just one of 18 projects run by ALIA, which was established in 1989 by HIV-positive professionals working in several fields. Now the largest HIV/AIDS-related organization in Brazil, its mission is to protect the civil rights of people living with HIV/AIDS and to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS through the creation and implementation of scientific and social programs. ALIA is considered an authority in combating HIV/AIDS and actively participates in formulating policies related to public health, social assistance and education. One of those HIV-positive professionals is Santos, who became an activist and community leader after her husband and infant son died from complications attributed to AIDS and she learned she was infected herself. “What motivates me to continue my work with ALIA is sharing my knowledge of how to take care of yourself and the rights for those infected, and to share happiness and sadness with those I work with,” she says. “Together we are stronger and can do much more.” Working Together to Produce Life-Changing Results Since the partnership with Johnson & Johnson began in 2005, ALIA’s Saber para Reagir program has reached more than 240 teens at high risk for HIV/AIDS infection. “More people have been reaching for male and female contraceptives, and from initiating more family dialogue, we have seen a decrease in domestic violence too,” Santos says. “With the right information, we can make responsible choices. With the support of Johnson & Johnson, we can disseminate the knowledge that will protect the individual, reduce HIV transmission and give back the dignity of those suffering.”

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Lowering the AIDS Risk for Teens

	“Prevention is the strongest demonstration of love a person can display to another person,” says Silvana Gomes dos Santos, a co-founder of Associação Londrinense Interdisciplinar de AIDS (ALIA). Knowledge Is Power According to a survey of 600 adolescents from the impoverished São Jorge community in the Brazilian city of Londrina, 60 percent do not use contraceptives and 30 percent have used illegal drugs. To protect these vulnerable teens from infectious diseases, ALIA began the Saber para Reagir (To Know Is to React) program. The program’s workshops educate 80 participants at a time about sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV/AIDS), early pregnancy, correct use of male and female contraceptives, and citizen rights. In addition, monthly meetings with families in the community spark dialogue and empower their involvement in the education process. “Without family, we will not be successful,” says Santos. Saber para Reagir is just one of 18 projects run by ALIA, which was established in 1989 by HIV-positive professionals working in several fields. Now the largest HIV/AIDS-related organization in Brazil, its mission is to protect the civil rights of people living with HIV/AIDS and to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS through the creation and implementation of scientific and social programs. ALIA is considered an authority in combating HIV/AIDS and actively participates in formulating policies related to public health, social assistance and education. One of those HIV-positive professionals is Santos, who became an activist and community leader after her husband and infant son died from complications attributed to AIDS and she learned she was infected herself. “What motivates me to continue my work with ALIA is sharing my knowledge of how to take care of yourself and the rights for those infected, and to share happiness and sadness with those I work with,” she says. “Together we are stronger and can do much more.” Working Together to Produce Life-Changing Results Since the partnership with Johnson & Johnson began in 2005, ALIA’s Saber para Reagir program has reached more than 240 teens at high risk for HIV/AIDS infection. “More people have been reaching for male and female contraceptives, and from initiating more family dialogue, we have seen a decrease in domestic violence too,” Santos says. “With the right information, we can make responsible choices. With the support of Johnson & Johnson, we can disseminate the knowledge that will protect the individual, reduce HIV transmission and give back the dignity of those suffering.”

“Prevention is the strongest demonstration of love a person can display to another person,” says Silvana Gomes dos Santos, a co-founder of Associação Londrinense Interdisciplinar de AIDS (ALIA).

Knowledge Is Power
According to a survey of 600 adolescents from the impoverished São Jorge community in the Brazilian city of Londrina, 60 percent do not use contraceptives and 30 percent have used illegal drugs. To protect these vulnerable teens from infectious diseases, ALIA began the Saber para Reagir (To Know Is to React) program.

The program’s workshops educate 80 participants at a time about sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV/AIDS), early pregnancy, correct use of male and female contraceptives, and citizen rights. In addition, monthly meetings with families in the community spark dialogue and empower their involvement in the education process. “Without family, we will not be successful,” says Santos.

Saber para Reagir is just one of 18 projects run by ALIA, which was established in 1989 by HIV-positive professionals working in several fields. Now the largest HIV/AIDS-related organization in Brazil, its mission is to protect the civil rights of people living with HIV/AIDS and to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS through the creation and implementation of scientific and social programs. ALIA is considered an authority in combating HIV/AIDS and actively participates in formulating policies related to public health, social assistance and education.

One of those HIV-positive professionals is Santos, who became an activist and community leader after her husband and infant son died from complications attributed to AIDS and she learned she was infected herself. “What motivates me to continue my work with ALIA is sharing my knowledge of how to take care of yourself and the rights for those infected, and to share happiness and sadness with those I work with,” she says. “Together we are stronger and can do much more.”

Working Together to Produce Life-Changing Results
Since the partnership with Johnson & Johnson began in 2005, ALIA’s Saber para Reagir program has reached more than 240 teens at high risk for HIV/AIDS infection.

“More people have been reaching for male and female contraceptives, and from initiating more family dialogue, we have seen a decrease in domestic violence too,” Santos says. “With the right information, we can make responsible choices. With the support of Johnson & Johnson, we can disseminate the knowledge that will protect the individual, reduce HIV transmission and give back the dignity of those suffering.”