THE government and stakeholders have been urged to widen the scope of awareness programmes to reach more people, especially adolescent girls with essential education to enable them protect themselves against HIV/Aids.

Rosemary Richard, programmes officer at Msichana Initiative, made the call in Dar es Salaam at the weekend in a meeting which brought together gender activists and girl rights campaigners from various regions to discuss challenges facing young women and girls in the country and Africa.

She said that reports show that despite the decrease in new HIV infections in the country, the challenge remains for girls and young women between the ages of 15 and 24 among whom new infections of the virus have increased.

She said Tanzania’s goal is to reach HIV epidemic control by 2030, with 95 percent of people living with the disease aware of their HIV status, 95 percent of those testing positive placed on continuous HIV treatment and 95 percent of those on treatment reaching viral suppression.

 “We implement the Sauti Yetu project which, among others, aims at behavioural change, educating the public and encouraging people to test for HIV as well as protect girls from HIV infection as many are still unaware on how to protect themselves,” she said.

Richard said in order to win the war against the disease, it is critical that all people living with HIV get tested, learn their status and begin lifesaving services while also protecting others from contracting the disease.

She said the project is implemented in four regions of Dar es Salaam, Coast, Kongwa and Tabora and that the major aim is to expand education and interventions to other regions.

Mariam Rajabu, a project beneficiary from Bagamoyo, Coast Region, thanked the stakeholders for joining forces to educate girls on their rights as well as fight against HIV/Aids.

“Some of us who have benefited from the training should be champions of educating our fellow girls to understand their value, fight violence and protect themselves against HIV/Aids,” she said.