STATEMENT ON WORLD AIDS DAY

WORLD ASSEMBLY OF YOUTH

STATEMENT ON WORLD AIDS DAY

1 DECEMBER 2006

Today is World AIDS Day – an occasion to commemorate the challenges posed by a pandemic that has had a devastating effect on mankind, in particular the youth.

More than half of the 60 million people who have been infected by HIV in the past 20 years have been young people aged between 15 and 24. Twelve million young people are today living with HIV/AIDS, and 6,000 more infected every day: that is 250 infected every hour.

On this revered occasion, we would like to call upon all stakeholders, partners, governments and youth organisations to reflect on the recommendations made by the World Assembly of Youth (WAY) at its 14th General Assembly (Windhoek, 2005):

Youth and Policy

1. National Youth Councils (NYCs) need to be involved throughout the development process of any policy affecting youth and HIV/AIDS

2. Create an enabling environment for appropriate laws and polices by promoting policy dialogue for HIV/STI prevention and care at all levels to mobilize resources, ensure ownership and sustainability, and promote a rights-based approach

3. Foster the participation of all youth in HIV/AIDS policy development and programmes, including those with disabilities and people living with HIV/AIDS

4. Work closely with a single-coordinating National AIDS Council and promote the decentralization of AIDS councils down to the local levels

5. NYCs need to be autonomous to prevent overly strong influence from their ministries to enhance their prominence at regional and international levels

6. Establish Youth Parliaments in countries where they do not exists to create a platform of consultation among lawmakers and youth

Gender Dimensions

7. Mainstream gender dimensions into all aspects of STIs and HIV/AIDS interventions, including: educational attainment, elimination of gender-based violence/coercive sex, empowerment of women and girls to exercise rights, empowerment to negotiate condom use, elimination of harmful traditional practices and all forms of stigma and discrimination, redefinition of stereotypical gender roles, and increased positive involvement of men and boys

Prevention

8. Prevention must remain the key strategy in combating HIV/AIDS. Preventive-educatio n consisting of raising awareness, developing knowledge and skills to reduce infections, access to care, support and counseling, and empowering decision-makers from national to community levels

Multi-Sectoral Approach

9. Employ a multi-sectoral program approach as the roots of the HIV/AIDS epidemic are complex, reflecting cultural, economic, legal, and gender-based challenges

10. Policies and programmes must address the underbelly of the HIV/AIDS epidemic by simultaneously focusing on gender, culture, poverty, and human rights to eliminate the vulnerability barriers surrounding HIV/AIDS

11. Respect cultural dimensions of HIV/AIDS while addressing harmful practices, and supporting adherence to the internationally endorsed principles of human rights

Community Mobilization

12. Results-based programmes targeting behaviour change should be founded on evidence-based socio-cultural research of culture, attitudes, and practices of all beneficiaries reflecting young people, and the community leaders who are the custodians of cultural norms and practices

13. Engage community and its traditional, religious and cultural leaders in programme design to encourage ownership, acceptability, utilization and sustainability

14. Family-unit must be targeted in HIV prevention programming as the first agent of socialization among young people

Sexual and Reproductive Health

15. Capacity development for professionals, service providers, teachers and other members of the school community, as well as peer educators and parents to address youth sexual and reproductive health needs

16. Utilize Sexual and Reproductive Health programmes as entry point for HIV/AIDS initiatives (i.e. maternal health, family planning, and STI management) to provide HIV prevention counseling, HIV voluntary counseling and testing, male and female condoms, STI management, and antiretroviral drugs

17. Comprehensive condom programming to improve availability, access and use of both male and female condoms for dual protection;

18. Development of skills for prevention and management of STIs and counseling

19. Advocacy for voluntary counselling and testing for HIV (VCT) care and support;

M&E

20. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) plan must be integrated into any NYC-lead programme on HIV/AIDS, and NYCs should strive to provide monitoring assistance to government-driven HIV/AIDS programmes among young people

Knowledge Sharing

21. Adopt culture of information- sharing and cross-fertilization of good practices between countries at all levels

22. Networking between regional NYCs should be systemized

23. Networking with community associations and institutions playing critical roles in defining social norms

24. Take initiative to train ourselves as youth leaders to understand and enhance the role of young people in moving youth platform forward

25. Promote and package awareness and advocacy initiatives that build on the positive socio-cultural values and norms in communities to address the adolescent/youth SRH needs and concerns

Resources

26. Investment of modest resources to combat HIV/AIDS now will prevent high economic and human costs in the future

27. Programme design must ensure that maximum resources allocated through National Youth Councils are reaching intended beneficiaries

28. Advocate for government support towards research and development of nationally produced ARV’s, and lobby for access to free and/or subsidized ARVs

29. Advocate for non-politicalizatio n of the Global Fund to ensure funds are provided fairly and to countries with limited resources and worst affected by HIV/AIDS

30. Create and maintain partnership with governments, Donors, UN agencies, Breton Woods Institutions (BWI), regional and sub-regional institutions and others to mobilize resources, materials and technical assistance for HIV/AIDS programming

Actions for World Assembly of Youth

31. Establish a WAYAIDS Fund through the Secretariat to coordinate, catalyze and mobilize funds for NYC-managed HIV/AIDS Programmes

32. Utilize the central WAYAIDS Fund to expand strategic alliances with national governments, NGOs, bi/multi-lateral donors, private sector, media, FBOs, CBOs, PLWAS

33. WAY ExCo and NYCs should better reflect gender equity in its membership

34. WAY should define and practice a consistent classification of “youth” to ensure suitable participation, and that program and policy is addressing intended beneficiaries.

Let us rise to meet the HIV/AIDS Challenge!