The Global HIV Landscape

FOUNDING PATRONS’ FOREWORD

A year ago, we announced our plans to expand Sentebale’s fl agship psychosocial support programme beyond Lesotho, to Botswana; which has the world’s third highest prevalence of HIV. Since then, a new team in Botswana have joined the Sentebale family and worked alongside local partners and the Ministry of Health and Wellness to provide nearly 400 children and young people with monthly support for their mental health and wellbeing, through Saturday Clubs and Residential Camps.

Sentebale’s presence has also grown signifi cantly across Lesotho over the past 12 months; our programme for 10 to 19 year olds living with HIV reached a cohort of over 3,400 young people every month, and we celebrated the landmark achievement of delivering half a million hours of psychosocial support. This mile-stone is a testimony to both the hard work of the Sentebale team, and commitment of our supporters all over the world.

Despite this progress, research shows us that HIV remains a leading cause of death for young people in Africa. Young people are not accessing treatment as effectively as other groups, due to a general lack of understanding and the stigma which still surrounds the disease. For those who are accessing care, their needs are often overlooked, with many young people fi nding services which are insuffi cient or unsuited to meet their specifi c needs. In light of this, Sentebale launched the Let Youth Lead programme in April 2017, with youth empowerment, engagement, and inter-generational dialogue at its core. Our vision is for all young people in southern Africa to know and manage their HIV status by 2020.

“Over the past 12 months, our programme for 10 to 19 year olds living with HIV reached a cohort of over 3,400 youth every month.”

PRINCE HARRY, SENTEBALE CO-FOUNDING PATRON

We have both been proud to play our part in this programme; whether that is launching Let Youth Lead at a summit in the ’Mamohato Children’s Centre, or joining young advocates to speak at a roundtable hosted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and attended by global health leaders including PEPFAR, UNAIDS and The Global Fund. It is platforms such as these that ensure young people are at the heart of shaping and strengthening future HIV policies to provide better support for their generation.

The breadth of what Sentebale has achieved this year is refl ected in the diffi cult task of selecting just a handful of highlights for this letter. But as in previous years, none of these achievements would be possible without the hard work of our dedicated team, or the continued support of all our donors and partners.

Thank you.

HRH PRINCE HENRY OF WALES HRH PRINCE SEEISO BERENG SEEISO

MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO

Globally, the HIV/AIDS community has worked hard to realise the Sustainable Development Goal ‘to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages,’ and to show commitment to the UNAIDS 2020 FastTrack targets. Adolescents continue to be at greater risk of HIV infection, with nearly 2,000 young people being newly infected with HIV each day. Sentebale’s youth centered approach with vulnerable and hard to reach groups has been more important than ever this year. We have continued developing and expanding our programmes to impact the lives of thousands of children and young people in Lesotho and Botswana. Our expenditure on programme activities increased signifi cantly this year by 28%, largely due to new HIV/AIDS prevention programmes in Lesotho as well as the continued expansion in Botswana. Consequently, fi nances were stretched, particularly with the impact of exchange rates. Underlying income increased by 6%, excluding exceptional items from the prior year and we saw good progress on diversifi cation of income with new Institutional grants, improving our long term sustainability.

This year has seen strong progress in our programme delivery, both geographically and in the breadth of our work. We are now supporting thousands of children and young people across a range of interventions, from prevention of HIV right through to adherence to treatment. Our team is stronger than ever and ready to expand our work into other southern African countries in line with our strategy. I would like to thank the team in Lesotho, Botswana and in London for all your amazing work and commitment to our vision. With the help of all our supporters, we will continue to reach and support some of the most vulnerable children, affected by HIV and those facing the challenges of extreme poverty.

Thank you very much to everyone who has supported us. We hope you enjoy reading this report; none of this work would have been possible without you.

“We are now supporting children across a range of interventions, from prevention of HIV right through to adherence to treatment.”

CATHERINE FERRIER, CEO

CATHERINE FERRIER, CEO “It has been a pleasure and a privilege to serve as chair of Sentebale. Over the last 7 years I have watched the charity grow and positively impact the lives of many thousands of children affected by the HIV epidemic in southern Africa. There is still so much to do and Sentebale is in a strong position to continue to expand and reach many more children and young people with lifesaving psychosocial support. I would like to thank the Board for their continued support and all of our donors and supporters, without whom the work we do would not be possible, and the Sentebale team for their hard work and dedication.”

PHILIP GREEN, CBE, CHAIRMAN (JAN 2011 – MARCH 2018)