USAID/SOUTHERN AFRICA MISSION DIRECTOR, DR. CARLEENE DEI

Launch of Kganya Motsha Adolescent Centre, Soweto
Associated with the Perinatal HIV Research Unit
February 14, 2008-- Remarks

I am very glad to participate with today’s launch of what may be Soweto’s or even South Africa’s most important tool toempower teenagers to make smart decisions about their health and future. 

The Kganya Motsha Adolescent Centre is being opened officially today because Sowetan teenagers need a reliable place to go for medical help.  They need to speak with people they can trust who have accurate information and communicate in a way that makes sense to adolescents.  

If young people are sick or suspect they may have an infection, they need to deal with professional medical staff who care and don’t judge.  They need to go to a place they can afford: Kganya Motsha is perfect because it is FREE.  Or should I rather say that the services are free to the teenage users because funding comes from the American people for USAID to support the costs using the U.S. President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief, commonly known as “PEPFAR”.     

USAID’s partnership with the Perinatal HIV Research Unit, or “PHRU” for short, goes back many years.  We are constantly impressed by their academic contributions as researchers who provide us with lessons learned to improve our programs, and we are also impressed with how their organization has been able to grow and reach so many infants, children, men and women, and of course adolescents….with essential high quality services.
 
Over the past 25 years, dramatic social, political and economic shifts have radically altered the landscape for adolescents around the world.  A generation ago, AIDS was unknown; today it is Africa’s leading cause of death among young people, followed by other infectious diseases.

Adolescence is a crucial period of major change—physically and psychologically.  Youth are bombarded with messages every day, everywhere they go…riding in taxis, listening to music, watching TV or movies.  How do they distinguish fact from fiction?  Reality from myth?  Indulgences from dangers? 

There is a clear need for the Kganya Motsha Adolescent Centre because it aims to eliminate the barriers for adolescents to access health care and information in a teenage-friendly atmosphere.  This Centre gives youth an opportunity to learn about and discuss sexual and other health matters.  And to get counseling and test for HIV if they want to.  And to get care and treatment if they need it. 

Through the Kganya Motsha Adolescent Centre, youth will gain the knowledge and tools to think ahead, weigh consequences and make responsible decisions.  At Kganya Motsha, teens can develop the skills necessary to protect themselves and their valuable health.  Kganya Motsha ensures a supportive, caring, nurturing environment.  This Clinic is going to change lives by affirming adolescents as positive resources, full of promise, purpose and potential. 

I really like the clever logo for Kganya Motsha, designed by Program Director, Dr. Rikash Jokhan.  His graphic image shows symbolic lights released by a stick figure that represents the basic human form.  It captures perfectly the essence and hope for young ones to shine which is what I understand the name means in the Sotho language.  It kind of gives me the feeling of liberation from the litany of confusion that can assail youngsters in that delicate phase between childhood and adulthood. 

The power of partnerships associated with Soweto’s brand new Adolescent Centre propels the American people to fund USAID’s efforts to collaborate with South African organizations such as the PHRU who see a need, study it and do something constructive about it.  I believe that the PHRU and Kganya Motsha Adolescent Center’s staff of dedicated, competent health professionals are setting an example for the entire nation.

Helping this country to deal with HIV is a top priority for the American Government.  President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as “PEPFAR”, enables USAID and other U.S. Government agencies to work closely with South Africa’s Government, private sector and other groups to stem the HIV/AIDS crisis and help implement South Africa’s own AIDS plan.

We all know that AIDS is more than a health crisis.  All sectors of society are affected and millions of South Africans deal with HIV in every part of their daily lives.  The Kganya Motsha Adolescent Centre will help to reduce the vulnerability of adolescents to not only AIDS, but other possible encounters with exploitation and abuse.

USAID’s assistance to South Africa since 1994 has included jobs creation, economic growth, housing development, education, promoting a stable democracy with good governance, and HIV and AIDS prevention, care and support.