With the up-coming AIDS 2008 in Mexico,
YouthForce has a chance to empower more
young people, advocate for critical issues
affecting youth worldwide, and further
pinpoint strategies for effective change.

It is often said that young people are the future, however they are also very much the present. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that today’s generation of young people is the largest youth cohort in history. Nearly half of the world’s population is under the age of 25, 85% of which live in developing countries.

Today’s youth are one of the most socially conscious and active segments of the population. Nowhere will this be more apparent than at the up-coming XVII Mexico City International AIDS Conference. As the largest international gathering on a health-related issue, the biennial conference has always served as a landmark event for the AIDS community.

Since the Barcelona AIDS Conference in 2000, YouthForce, a coalition of youth and youth-serving organizations, have been coming together to ensure that youth issues and youth participation are well represented at the event.

AIDS 2008

With the up-coming AIDS 2008 in Mexico, YouthForce has a chance to empower more young people, advocate for critical issues affecting youth worldwide, and further pinpoint strategies for effective change. Since January 2008, several different YouthForce sub-committees have been busy working on the various activities and initiatives planned for Mexico City. YouthForce key activities include the Youth Pre-Conference and Youth Pavilion.

In order to promote and strengthen young delegates' meaningful participation in the 2008 conference, the Mexico YouthForce is coordinating a three day pre-conference event, from 31 July-2 August for approximately 250 young HIV activists.

The Youth Pavilion will not only provide a space for young people to showcase their work on HIV issues, but will also support youth delegates at the conference. All young people attending the conference are invited to join the YouthForce activities.

For young people who are unable to attend the conferences there are also ways to get involved. To find out more about these opportunities visit AIDS 2008 Youth site (on english and spanish languages)

YouthForce

In addition to working on ensuring youth participation and effective programming at the International AIDS Conferences, the YouthForce helps young leaders advocate on issues relevant to them such as the rights of young people living with HIV and the criminalization of young sex workers and injecting drug users.

“The YouthForce is a wonderful example of groups from all over the world who work on HIV and sexual reproductive health issues coming together to create meaningful opportunities for young people to take action in their countries and communities,” said Joya Banerjee, Programme Coordinator and Cofounder of the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS.

“Through the YouthForce, young leaders are trained, they have an opportunity to network with each other, and learn how to create and run programmes and policies,” she added.

UNAIDS is involving the Mexican hotel industry in a prevention campaign around the International AIDS Conference in August 2008 and in the longer term through the development of sustainable long term HIV workplace policies & programmes Photo: UNAIDS/R.Castillo

The International AIDS conference (AIDS 2008) will bring to Mexico approximately 20,000 delegates and 2000 journalists from all over the world from 3-8 August 2008. AIDS 2008 presents a unique opportunity to engage the local hotel industry on issues related to HIV.

UNAIDS and the Mexican hotel industry are launching an HIV prevention campaign entitled “The Life Initiative – Hotels addressing AIDS”. Aimed at hotel guests and staff the initiative will raise awareness about HIV prevention and non-discrimination of people living with HIV. The initiative will also promote the development of sustainable long- term HIV workplace policies and programmes in the hotels. The hotel industry is a key player in the response to AIDS as it can reach a wide and diverse audience with HIV prevention information including its large workforce.

A first inaugural meeting of all the participating hotels took place at the Hotel Marquis in Mexico City on July 4th 2008. Photo: UNAIDS/R.Alion

The prevention campaign will include the display of AIDS related leaflets, posters and brochures, art exhibitions, distribution of free male and female condoms, and showing of AIDS related films in all participating hotels. Condoms will be distributed at all participating hotels via the “condom project” which has been financed with the support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Sustainable long term HIV workplace policies and programs in hotels

One of UNAIDS’ partners in this initiative, IMPULSO - a network of NGOs experts on the provision of technical assistance on HIV in the workplace – will provide capacity building trainings which include situational analysis, stigma and discrimination program and HIV policy and program development. IMPULSO’s specific workshops in hotels also include training in the use and implementation of a software called Workplace Policy Builder designed to assist companies in developing their own AIDS policies.

Condoms will be distributed at all participating hotels via the “condom project” which has been financed with the generous support from UNFPA. Photo: UNAIDS/R.Castillo

More than 5,100 hotel employees have already been trained, covering 7,738 rooms in hotels in Mexico City. They received education information on HIV prevention, an overview of the epidemic in Mexico, and were sensitized on issues related to stigma and discrimination in the workplace.

“In Mexico, we note that nearly 200,000 people are living with HIV and around 5,000 people died in 2006 from diseases related to AIDS. The XVII International AIDS Conference presents a unique opportunity to involve the local hotel industry on issues related to HIV,” said UNAIDS Director of Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, Cesar Nuñez.

All partners will announce the launch of the initiative around a press event on 06 August 2008 at 09:00- the International AIDS Society’s press center. For further information please contact UNAIDS Chief of Private Sector Partnerships, Regina Castillo (castillor@unaids.org)

The condoms factory uses natural latex
collected by local rubber tappers and it
will be able to supply the Brazilian
government with 100 million condoms a
year. Photo credit: UNAIDS/J.Spaull

The use of condoms in Brazil is preventing the spread of HIV and it might also be helping to save the rainforest thanks to a condom factory opened in April in the Amazon region. This unique factory uses natural latex collected by local rubber tappers and it will be able to supply the Brazilian government with 100 million condoms a year.

The company which runs the factory – Natex - is a joint venture between the local state of Acre, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Health. It represents Acre’s new vision for the Amazon - “Florestania” - which seeks to increase the living standards of its inhabitants whilst also preserving the rain forest, through increasing the value of the products extracted from it.

The factory is located in Xapuri, made famous by the environmentalist and rubber tapper Chico Mendes who was assassinated there twenty years ago, and it is a direct legacy of his life’s work. Threatened with the destruction of their livelihood by the cattle ranchers who were clearing the forest, Mendes’s great achievement was to forge an alliance between the interests of the rubber tappers and the environmentalists. Mendes saw the rubber tappers as the natural custodians of the forest.

The factory provides employment for around 100 people and the latex is supplied by around 700 rubber tappers. As well as payment for the latex, the rubber tappers receive a fee for “environmental services”, recognising their importance in safeguarding the forest. This has greatly improved the living conditions of rubber tappers such as Chico Mendes’s cousin Sebastiao Teixeira Mendes who gets a guaranteed income for his latex which is higher than he could get elsewhere. He sees the rubber tappers as the “soldiers of the forest – patrolling and managing the forest”.

At the opening of Natex, the then Minister of Environment Marina Silva - the daughter of rubber tappers herself – was in no doubt of the significance of the factory: “This is a project where high technology will help to preserve the soul of the forest”. Adding, “The forest will remain the forest and the rubber tappers will remain rubber tappers through a new way of working and producing”.

As well as the environmental and social aspects of the factory, the other main driver of the project has been the Government’s need for an increasing supply of good quality condoms. The distribution of free condoms coupled with a national campaign for their usage has been at the core of the Brazilian Governments AIDS prevention strategy.

The distribution of free condoms coupled
with a national campaign for their usage
has been at the core of the Brazilian
Governments AIDS prevention strategy.
Photo credit: UNAIDS/J.Spaull

Since 1994, 1.5 billion free condoms have been distributed and it is projected that 557 million will be distributed this year reaching out to 52% of the population. The change in people’s attitudes can be seen from a national study, which showed that the percentage of those who used condoms during their first sexual encounter rose from 10% in 1986 to 47.8% in 1998 and 65.8% in 2005. In another study in 2004 showed that 96% of the adult population cited the use of condoms as the best method of preventing HIV transmission.

In 2007, the Government of Brazil imported one billion condoms and plans to purchase an additional 1.2 billion by the end of the year. It is expected that the factory will eventually increase its annual production from 100 to 200 million condoms and diversify into female condoms, therefore greatly reducing the Government’s reliance on importing condoms.

Whilst the condoms will be slightly more expensive to produce than importing from Asia, it is a cost that the director of the National AIDS Programme Dr Mariangela Simao believes is well worth paying as it “reflects the social benefits of increasing the income of the autochthonous population and a sustainable way of managing the native rubber trees”.

UNAIDS Country Director Mr Pedro Chequer, who was previously the National AIDS Director and as such was involved in the planning stages for the factory believes that it “represents the Government’s high level political commitment to maintain HIV as a priority agenda for the Country”. The world, he notes, faces a huge shortage of condoms. “As far as male condoms are concerned the annual deficit would be around 30 billion if we consider half of the world male population using a condom once a week. Of course the initial production of 100 million condoms will not have much affect on the world scenario, but it will help the country have guaranteed access to the production of condoms”.

It is a model that he believes Brazil could export through joint ventures with other Latin American Countries.

Sebastiao Mendes and the local community have a name for Natex that sums up how they feel about the factory - “The love factory”. It is easy to see why there is such enthusiasm for the factory - a factory that is helping in the response to AIDS, but also helping to improve the living conditions of the local population whilst at the same time preserving the endangered rain forest.

UNAIDS Executive DIrector Dr Peter Piot
(left) and President Elías Antonio Saca of
El Salvador (right) during the signing of
the Memorandum of Understanding
between the Republic of El Salvador and
UNAIDS.

President Elías Antonio Saca of El Salvador hosted a meeting with UNAIDS Executive Director Dr Peter Piot on 10 June at the United Nations HQ in New York. On this occasion, a regional Memorandum of Understanding between the Republic of El Salvador and UNAIDS was signed.

Under the terms of this agreement, UNAIDS will provide support for the establishment of a Technical Support Secretariat (TS Secretariat) of the Regional Coordination Mechanism on HIV (RCM) to be located in El Salvador. The aim of the TS Secretariat is to enhance coordination between donors, national AIDS programmes, national and regional institutions, and other public and private sectors parties. UNAIDS will also support the TS secretariat by providing them with key tools, technical resources and up to date information on AIDS.

The RCM is a regional body that supports the management and oversight of the AIDS response in Central America.  It was established by the Council of Ministers of Health of Central America (COMISCA) and has already made a significant difference.

This new Secretariat aims to enhance coordination of the AIDS response in Central America by identifying areas of regional collaboration including harmonization of procedures for procurement of AIDS related commodities and supplies and promote partnerships with civil society, private and public sector and donors in the region.

By working closely with the heads of the Central America National AIDS Programmes the TS Secretariat will coordinate the technical assistance needs in the region and widely share information resources, best practices and tools. It also aims to identify opportunities for collaboration with other regional partners such as the International Centre for Technical Cooperation on HIV/AIDS in Brazil.

Regional cooperation in health is recognized as being highly effective for coordination, harmonization and political dialogue.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed on behalf of the Government of El Salvador by Minister of Foreign Affairs Marisol de Argueta, and by UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Michel Sidibe on behalf of UNAIDS.

UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Mr
Michel Sidibe (left) with the Minister of
Health of Brazil, Mr. José Gomes
Temporão (right) after signing the
cooperation agreement. 21st May 2008,
Geneva.

UNAIDS and the government of Brazil signed an agreement on Wednesday 21st of May, 2008 to continue their cooperation on providing technical support to countries in strengthening and scaling-up national responses to AIDS through the International Centre for Technical Cooperation on HIV/AIDS (ICTC).

In 2005, Brazil with support from UNAIDS established the International Centre for Technical Cooperation on HIV/AIDS (ICTC) which has been playing a lead role in promoting technical cooperation on AIDS. The centre has established a network of AIDS service organization and experts in the region who are available to countries in developing and strengthening national responses. The centre has also managed a number of regional and international training programmes to build capacities in low and middle income countries ranging from human rights to the clinical management of HIV infection.

Some of the technical cooperation activities undertaken by the ICTC include strengthening national policies in areas such as HIV prevention and care, epidemiology, monitoring and evaluation, human rights, and the strengthening of civil society. To that end, UNAIDS has supported initiatives such as the organization of a workshop to harmonize public policies for sexual education and prevention of AIDS and drugs in the school environment of six Latin American countries, a workshop on AIDS spending assessment in Latin America, and conducting a meeting to identify the needs for technical cooperation in Latin America.

ICTC has received support from DFID, GTZ, UNFPA, the World Bank and other international partners and the current agreement with UNAIDS will enable the centre to scale up its operations and strengthen the quality and scope of the support it provides.

ICTC's work is based on the principle of horizontality, which recognizes that considerable variation exists among countries in terms of epidemiological profile, country response, organization of health and social services, culture, legal and political systems, and levels of economic, social and technological development. In view of this, ICTC's projects are elaborated jointly with countries and tailored to the specific requirements and resources of each, in accordance with the principles of the 'Three Ones.'

Since the early nineties Patricia Pérez has
raised her voice to speak out for and
advocate for the rights of women living
with or affected by HIV.

Leadership is the expression of a person whose aim is to transform something for the better and to develop this potential in others. Often leadership abilities are brought to the fore by certain crises in life enabling people to discover abilities that they didn’t know they had.

Activist Patricia Pérez is one such person. Since the early nineties she has raised her voice, along with other activists, to speak out for and advocate for the rights of women living with or affected by HIV.

Patricia Pérez was only 24 years old she found out she was HIV-positive. That was in 1986 and doctors told her that her life-expectancy would not be longer than two years. Today Pérez is the coordinator of the Latin American branch of the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW), an organization of truly global reach which she helped to found.

Personal journey of discovery

Patricia was working as a gymnastics teacher in the city of her birth, Buenos Aires, Argentina at the time of her HIV diagnosis. After the shocking news she could only think one week at a time and couldn’t imagine a future life.

One day she decided to no longer dwell exclusively on her own situation and shifted her focus to others. She formed a volunteer group at the Muniz Hospital for people living with HIV that met weekly together to listen and support each other. Perez realized that all people living with HIV shared specific needs and experiences and that strength came from connecting together in networks.

Five years later she took part in a demonstration in London of 10,000 people living with HIV and realised that she was not alone and the power of a collective voice.

Early days of ICW

In 1992 at age 30, Patricia helped found
the International Community of Women
Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW).

In 1992 at age 30, Patricia helped found the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW). This milestone in the history women’s AIDS advocacy happened when she and a group of 30 HIV positive women from different countries were attending the 8th International Conference on AIDS held in Amsterdam that year. Inspired by the idea that by working together they could make a difference to the lives of all women living with HIV, they drew up a charter on improving the situation of women living with HIV.

Today ICW has 8,000 members in 57 countries and is the only international network led by and for of HIV positive women.

“While the epidemic continues to have a devastating impact on women, Pérez, and other positive leaders are vital voices against stigma and discrimination.  They have led the way in  advocating for prevention, treatment, care and support services for people living with HIV, including those specifically tailored to the needs of positive women,” said UNAIDS Senior Partnership Adviser, Kate Thomson.

Women and HIV

Perez continues today to advocate at regional and international levels for women’s rights and greater involvement of women in clinical trials and scientific research on drug efficacy and HIV progression. She regularly organizes symposia and conferences across Latin America and participates in international events.

Women comprise about half of all people living with HIV worldwide and in sub-Saharan Africa, where the epidemic is worst, they make up an estimated 57% of adults living with HIV, and three quarters of young people living with HIV on the continent are young women aged 15-24.