Football and Oral HIV Self-Testing

More about Football and Oral HIV Self-Testing

By using the power of football, VAP trains local footballers to achieve community role model status through the ‘Skillz Kenya’ curriculum, and qualifies them to become community change agents. These trained ‘coaches’ educate youth from their own neighborhoods, and inspire them to avoid risks and lead productive and healthy lives. Simply arriving at a dusty field wins instant friendship and football players are heroes and role models. The Skillz program creates simple, but powerful connections between football and life, and helps young people take small steps to achieve their goals, stay strong when faced with challenges, and protect themselves and others from HIV/AIDS. The program focuses on building basic life skills that help youth adopt healthy behaviors and live risk-free. Through a series of interactive activities, football-themed games and discussions, participants gain a tangible understanding of HIV/AIDS and get a chance to practice the skills necessary for sustainable behavior change. Key topics include making healthy decisions, avoiding risks, building support networks, reducing stigma and discrimination, increasing knowledge about testing and treatment, addressing gender