YOUTHS

Youths are a group of people having their life time between childhood and adulthood and this is the time in ones life when some specific activities like sex relationships is at high demand.                          Adolescence is a stage in life or a specific age range during which one develops specific features and mostly the features are more characteristic of sexual development and at this stage, individuals are more engaged in sexual relationships and activities. Youthhood being a general board period in life, it may also be expressed into two subgroups which include the teenage stage which range from 13 to 19 years of ages and Young adulthood which also range from 18 to 32 years of age.

Youth being a stage of constructing self concept, is influenced by a number of variables such as peers, lifestyle and culture and at this stage in life one makes a decision that determines the future, that's to say when one makes a good choice or decision then bright future awaits but is she or makes a worse or poor choice or decision, the future is lived in with a lot of struggles.

In African setting, the youth is a period in life ranging for 15 to 30 years of age and African youths only makes 19% of the world's population and it's predicted that by the year 2030, African youth population will increase by 42% . Africa is the continent have the greatest number of young youths with 60% of all African youths being of ages below 25 years making Africa the youngest continent with all the 10 countries with the youngest youths being in Africa among which Niger is the leading country.

Uganda is one of the countries in the world with the youngest population with 77% of it's population being youths aged below 25 years.  According to UNICEF, the youth is between age 15 to 24 but according to youth policy, a Ugandan youth is said to be between 12 to 30 years of age and this include both females and male where male to females youth ratio being 2 males per 100 females with life expectancy of 42.6 years in males and 44.5 year in females. 

Talking about freedom, liberty and rights of youths on African continent, it's so had for these to be observed and implemented. However the youths in Africa have restrictions upon some activities in life not until they make a certain agreed minimum ages as per laws of different countries on the continent. Different countries, have different laws and restrictions on this same issue but the information given will more focus on the rights and freedom of Ugandan youths.

Globally, youths make the largest portion of world's population and they act a very important role in the development of the universe. 

In Africa, youths take about 70% of the Continent's population and these are majorly of ages between 13 to 35 years. Africa being a developing continent, it needs more of these young generation to take part in the developmental activities on the Continent.

However with the increased involvement of the youths in developmental activities in Africa where there are limited employment opportunities has increased the involvement of the youth generation in high risk activities like sex workers, involvimg in sexual activities with sugar mumies and daddies with the aim to earn some living and it has also increased the use of drug injection habits due to luck of wat to do hence increasing the infection rate of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

In Uganda, this kind of risk increases every year and the most exposed group are the youths mostly the female youths who are more at risk of forceful engagement in sexual activities which as a result increases the risk of HIV infection thus the increase of new HIV infections per year.

Further more, the adosecent youths are at an equal risk of being infected by HIV due to inadequate knowledge and information and the infection and increased high levels of sexual hormones that in return increases desires for sexual activities.

Therefore in this campaign of ensuring that the rate of HIV infection is reduced to almost 0%, youth should be involved and put at the front line by ensuring that they are well informed about the HIV/AIDS and this is one of the aims for why Ssenoga Initiative for Positive Living (SIPL) was founded.