UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS

November 2007

About Me

Hello, I’m Novia Condell. I’m 32 years old and have been working in the area of HIV prevention for the past six years, having started as a Behaviour Change Communication Officer at the Ministry of Health’s National AIDS Programme. Since October 2006, I’ve been working as UNICEF’s Children and HIV/AIDS Specialist in Kingston.

I was born here in Jamaica in a small rural community in the parish of Westmoreland and grew up along the island’s north coast. It was fun growing up as the last of five children. I always felt protected and cared for and our family has always been, and remains, very close. However, as I got older I came to realize that not all children were as fortunate as I was. So for me, it is such a privilege to be working towards strengthening our response to HIV and AIDS and reducing its impact on children.

My work is made even more special by the fact that I am the mother of a wonderful six-year-old son. My work currently focuses on prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, preventing new infections among adolescents and the protection of orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS. So I interact with a wide range of stakeholders including children, school teachers and principals, community peer educators, nurses and doctors, as well as government officials.

While I enjoy my work immensely, I am most “at home” when I am with a group of children. They are so expressive and full of ideas and opinions. When I am sitting and (as we say in Jamaica) “reasoning” with young people I know that Jamaica’s future is in good hands. We now have the responsibility to protect and empower them so that they are able to reach their full potential and ensure that they grow up in a world without HIV and AIDS.

UNICEF has assisted the Government of Jamaica in reducing the impact of HIV and AIDS. One of the successes has been in the area of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission, where the rate of transmission from infected mothers to their babies dropped from 25% to 10%. However, challenges remain and we are focused on ensuring that the rate moves to below 5% over the next three years. The risk of infection, particularly among adolescents, is increasing. We have to strengthen our response by forging even stronger collaborations with the government and non-governmental organizations we work with to reduce the impact of HIV and AIDS on Jamaica’s children.