Young people are leading the HIV prevention revolution

HIV prevalence among young people is falling in 16 of the 21 countries most affected by AIDS according to a ground-breaking study for UNAIDS led by the International Group on Analysis of trends in HIV prevalence and behaviours among young people.

This breaking news section of OUTLOOK captures some of the main findings of their study which will be presented for the first time at the XVIII International AIDS Conference being held in Vienna in 2010.

For the first time, the report shows that reductions in HIV prevalence among young people have coincided with a change in sexual behaviour patterns. The report also notes that declines in HIV prevalence can be attributed to falling new HIV infections among young people—a breakthrough essential for breaking the trajectory of the AIDS epidemic.