Dili, August 17, 2026 (Media Democracia) – The National Institute for Combating HIV-AIDS (INCSIDA) held an awareness activity for 200 youth from the Comoro Child Youth Center (CCYC) Training Center in Dili, to increase youth knowledge and awareness about HIV-AIDS, especially regarding prevention, risks, and the impact of the disease on the health and future of young people in Timor-Leste.
According to the President of the National Institute for Combating HIV-AIDS (INCSIDA), Daniel Marçal, the awareness activity that INCSIDA conducted for youth from the Comoro Child Youth Center (CCYC) aims to give youth an understanding about HIV-AIDS, because youth are the future and the continuity of the nation.
“But we see that many youth don’t pay attention to their future, especially regarding their confidentiality and sexual health, which can affect their future. This happens because they are not yet able to properly control their sexual desires.” said President Daniel Marçal to journalists at the INCSIDA premises, Monday (17/08/2026).
He said that many youth, especially girls, have to interrupt their studies because they get pregnant at a young age, date early, and end up getting married early.
“I want to deliver one message we need to constantly give advice and guidance to youth. Especially to colleagues in the media, you must share information with intensity and responsibility, because today many people are concerned about other people’s futures, but often don’t care about their own future.” he said.
Daniel also said that parents make great sacrifices to ensure their children’s future because they want to see their children succeed in the days ahead.
Regarding HIV-AIDS, he explained that the number of cases in Timor-Leste continues to increase. According to data from INCSIDA, the estimated number of HIV cases may already be more than 2,000, because there isn’t yet data on everyone who has HIV.
“We can say that the cases have reached more than two thousand. If we estimate, it could reach two thousand three hundred, because we haven’t yet registered everyone. Most of them are youth, including minors.” he explained.
He said this situation needs serious attention, because youth have a long future ahead. He also referred to the results of a study which said that 26 percent of young women and men have had sexual relations with more than one partner, which is considered a risk to public health and the future of the nation.
Daniel Marçal emphasized that efforts to prevent HIV-AIDS cannot depend only on awareness activities, but also need support from legal frameworks and public policies to create conditions that can help prevent and control the spread of HIV-AIDS.
“This isn’t good for the nation and not good for our people. Because the data that INCSIDA has comes from the Ministry of Health. INCSIDA and the Ministry of Health work and cooperate together to combat HIV-AIDS in Timor-Leste.” he stated.
On the other hand, the Program Manager at the Comoro Child Youth Center (CCYC), Delio Maria Lopes, informed that INCSIDA carried out an awareness activity for youth about HIV-AIDS, and considers this activity very important to increase youth knowledge about the disease.
“Because this issue is very sensitive, we need to raise awareness among youth to increase their knowledge about HIV-AIDS. Because the highest number of cases come from the youth group, so we need to give them awareness so they can avoid and prevent this disease.” said Delio Maria Lopes.
He said that the cooperation between CCYC and INCSIDA in HIV-AIDS awareness activities did not just start now, but for the past three to four years, awareness programs like this have always been held.
“Every year, we always have an awareness program for youth who actively participate in training at CCYC. The awareness is always different, because the students who participate in CCYC training change every three months. When new students enter, we always coordinate with relevant parties to provide information and awareness about HIV-AIDS to newly registered youth.” he explained.
He added that in today’s awareness activity, nearly 200 students participated.
Meanwhile, participant Maria Freitas said that the information she heard from the speakers about HIV-AIDS gave her new knowledge and increased her awareness about the risks of the disease.
“Now we can see that the percentage of HIV-AIDS cases is rising sharply in Timor-Leste. This is an important message for us youth to increase our knowledge, so that in the future we can protect ourselves, and also remind our friends and family about how to prevent this disease.” said Maria Freitas.
The awareness activity was attended by nearly 200 students from CCYC. The speakers came from INCSIDA, a representative of the Ministry of Health, a representative of PNTL, a representative of the Ministry of the Coordinator for Social Affairs, and INCSIDA staff.
The objective of the activity was to increase youth knowledge and awareness about HIV-AIDS, especially regarding prevention, risk factors, and the importance of adopting healthy behaviors to protect themselves and others.
Reporting: Tomás dos Santos
Photo: Domingos Moreira