The Final of the ethic’action project tournament

As part of AJAN’s mission to accompany young people in Togo, in celebration of World AIDS Day (WAD) that takes place every 1 December, Centres Sociaux Loyola held an interscholastic basketball tournament at the Lycée français de Lomé as part of its campaign to combat HIV. The basketball tournament brought together young people from 12 secondary schools in Lomé and was used as an opportunity to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS.

The final of the Ethic’ Action 2023 basketball tournament was held on the floors of the French high school in Lomé on Saturday, December 2, 2023, the day after World AIDS Day had been commemorated. A major focus of this tournament, which attracted young players in the minims, cadet, and junior divisions, ages 10 to 18 (both boys and girls), was the fight against the stigmatization of individuals living with HIV.

Supported by Centres Sociaux Loyola, the Ethic’ Action  project  is designed to increase participants’ awareness and knowledge through basketball sessions while specifically addressing HIV/AIDS and associative themes. More than 1000 young people and their parents benefited directly from the program during 3 days. The focus is on the most vulnerable STI/HIV prevention messages, the situation of vulnerable young people living in poverty, girls and women. The commitment of the Centres Sociaux Loyola to this tournament is relevant to the theme  “Entrusting leadership to communities” chosen for WAD 2023.

Such programs are particularly important because of the high economic inequalities in Togo, where perceptions of HIV and AIDS, sexual transmission, and gender equality are generally guided by religion, traditions, and norms, which are rarely based on evidence and science. HIV and AIDS is a manifestation of existing poverty, which takes hold where livelihoods are not sustainable, and is the result of the unmitigated impact of the epidemic on social and economic conditions.

By, VIEJO Euloge

STI/HIV Prevention Program Manager at CSL