Young people
Update
Kenya reaffirms commitment to address stigma and discrimination
02 August 2016
02 August 2016 02 August 2016Kenya has reaffirmed its commitment to end HIV-related stigma and discrimination with a new national campaign titled “Kick out HIV stigma”. The campaign, which aims to engage the Kenyan youth through the Maisha County Football League, leverages the power of football to mobilize young people to end HIV stigma and link them to stigma-free HIV testing, treatment and care.
Championing the campaign, Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya received the league’s trophies, which he will award to the winning teams on World AIDS Day 2016.
HIV is significant health threat among adolescents and young people in Kenya. As per 2015 estimates, a total of 35 776 new HIV infections and 3 853 AIDS-related deaths occurred among young people aged 15 to 24. HIV-related stigma remains a significant barrier to many young people accessing HIV counselling and testing, as well as lifesaving HIV treatment.
The “Kick out HIV stigma” campaign intends to reach 10 million young people in Kenya with HIV messages; provide mentorship to 3 million through an innovative digital platform and HIV counselling and testing—including immediate linkages to HIV treatment for those who test HIV positive—to 1 million by 1 December 2016.
The campaign is led by a partnership between government, the Football Kenya Federation, civil society, the United Nations and Kuza Biashara, a social enterprise on innovative information technology.
Quotes
“I am particularly confident of our capability to turn the tide on HIV because the Maisha County League provides us a unique opportunity to harness the power of sports for development.”
“No single entity, no single intervention can end HIV stigma, new HIV infections and AIDS. We must all work together.”
“I look forward to a day when all young people in Kenya will live in a stigma-free society.”
“Young people must have access to information, HIV testing and treatment free of stigma and discrimination. "
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Update
Football stars promote HIV prevention in China
26 July 2016
26 July 2016 26 July 2016Two major stars of the footballing world have joined forces to encourage young people in China to get informed and protect themselves from HIV. UNAIDS Special Ambassador for Youth and China-Africa Collaboration, Gervinho, and UNAIDS National Goodwill Ambassador for China, Shao Jiayi took part in an event with Chinese media called Sports For Change which was moderated by another UNAIDS National Goodwill Ambassador, the television personality, James Chau. The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, also attended the event in Beijing.
The event on 26 July honoured Gervinho in his new role. The football star, whose full name is Kouassi Gervais Yao moved to China in January 2016 to play for the Chinese Super League team, Hebei China Fortune. Originally from Côte d’Ivoire, Gervinho is already active in promoting HIV awareness and prevention to young people in Africa and will expand this work in China.
Shao Jiayi has actively used his popularity in China to speak up on issues surrounding HIV, highlight the challenges faced by people living with HIV in their everyday lives and encourage young people to take up leadership roles in the AIDS response.
Mr Sidibé, who is on a five-day visit to China, thanked the two football stars and Mr Chau for their continued efforts to reduce the impact of the AIDS epidemic in China and around the world. He also underlined how new HIV infections had to be stopped and stressed the role that Gervinho and Shao Jiayi could play in raising HIV awareness among young people.
At the end of 2015, there were 3.9 million young people aged 15 to 24 living with HIV and 670 000 new HIV infections among this age group.
Quotes
“As a big football fan, I know how Gervinho and Shao Jiayi can take the prevention message everywhere they go in China, Africa and the world. When the champions speak out on HIV prevention, young people listen and the message gets through.”
“I am proud to continue supporting Michel Sidibé and the work of UNAIDS on their mission to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Football is a powerful platform which unites and attracts people from all walks of life. I want to use the game to help spread messages about prevention – I want to empower people to make smart choices for themselves and their loved ones.”
“It is great to be part of the UNAIDS team. I am working to ensure that young people in China live healthy lives and that includes knowing how to protect yourself from HIV.”
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Update
Turning the tide for adolescent girls and young women
19 July 2016
19 July 2016 19 July 2016At a session on 19 July entitled “Turning the tide for adolescent girls and young women: gender equality and women’s human rights at the centre for reaching the end of AIDS,” at the 21st International AIDS Conference, being held in Durban, South Africa, new research evidence from the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) was presented.
The research results suggest further reasons for the increased risk of HIV infection among adolescent girls and young women in Africa and how it could be reduced. Women who have vaginal Prevotella bivia infection are 19 times more likely to have evidence of genital inflammation and 13 times more likely to acquire HIV.
Another study suggested that the impact of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) may vary according to the level of acidity of the vagina. Gardnerella vaginalis, a bacteria that predominates when normal vaginal lactobacillus levels are low, absorbs the PrEP medicine tenofovir, thereby reducing its availability to prevent HIV infection. This will have implications for the effectiveness of PrEP if the results of this laboratory study are confirmed in women at risk of HIV.
Finally, another study conducted by CAPRISA in South Africa confirmed that age-disparate relationships are common, with adolescent girls and young women having sexual relationships with men who were, on average, eight years older.
Following the CAPRISA presentation, a panel discussion took place to discuss what it would take to turn the tide for young women and adolescent girls. Participants noted that reaching the global target set in the Political Declaration on Ending AIDS—namely, reducing annual new HIV infections among young women and adolescent girls to fewer than 100 000 by 2020—would require accelerated scale-up of combination HIV prevention programmes for adolescent girls and young women covering biological, behavioural and structural programmes tailored to the needs of the location and population.
Keeping girls in school, community mobilization, multimedia, cash transfers, youth leadership and prevention of gender-based violence were seen to be as essential as condom programming, comprehensive sexuality education, PrEP and antiretroviral therapy.
Also at the session, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Luiz Loures launched new guidance on HIV prevention among adolescent girls and young women that details a combination of approaches that also reach out to men and adolescent boys.
Quotes
“Reaching the 2016 United Nations Political Declaration on Ending AIDS targets on adolescent girls and young women entails developing effective HIV prevention programmes with a combination of approaches that also reach out to men and adolescent boys. The new UNAIDS guidance launched today will help countries to do so.”
“Biomedical interventions can be important as one piece of the puzzle, but we know that girls going to clinics get driven out and shamed because they are sexually active. Until we bring girls to clinics, make clinics more youth-friendly, stop stigmatizing girls and involve government and communities systematically in these efforts, we will not have the results we need.”
“To achieve our goal for women and girls, we need political and community leadership to ensure that comprehensive sexuality education is implemented. We need to get empowered young women who are valued by the community.”
“In South Africa, HIV cannot be separated from gender-based violence. We need to broaden our approach because the HIV epidemic among women and girls is not only about sex, it is about relationships, poverty and other structural issues.”
“Gender inequality is not a medical issue. We will not end AIDS if we don’t end gender inequality. We need an equal world.”
Update
Creating an AIDS-free generation with and for adolescents
18 July 2016
18 July 2016 18 July 2016Innovation has played a key role in advancing the response to AIDS, and continued investments in innovative solutions will be vital to ending AIDS among adolescents by 2030. An event hosted by the South African Ministry of Health and the United Nations Children’s Fund at the 21st International AIDS Conference, taking place in Durban, South Africa, from 18 to 22 July, brought together representatives of the media, donors, governments and youth.
Participants at the event, held on 18 July and entitled “Creating an AIDS-free generation with and for adolescents: predict the future by creating it,” noted that there is a great potential for paradigm shifts and improved outcomes for adolescents. The development of new rapid diagnostic testing and antiretroviral therapies has already changed the landscape.
Youth vlogger Siyanda Mohutsiwa and disc jockey Zakes Bantwini opened the session, which was moderated by award-winning journalist Iman Rappetti, and shared their experiences of working with young people affected by HIV across Africa. While interacting with the audience and engaging with young people around the world through social media, the participants explored five areas of innovation that they believe will contribute to the promise of an AIDS-free generation: mobile money services and digital currencies; unique identifications; transportation and delivery; wearable and sensor technologies; and learning technologies.
At the conclusion, all agreed that innovation is key, as is capitalizing on advances in technology, being prepared to think and do differently, investing in bold initiatives and fostering partnerships with new sectors, especially young people.
Quotes
“Adolescents were absent from the Millennium Development Goals— that's why we failed to address them.”
“We speak about prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, but not about how to stay negative. We seek solutions for a vaccine, but not protecting girls against violence. We have identified the issues, we have found the problems, now we have to find the solutions.”
“Technology provides a platform for young people to share their experiences and feelings. Digital platforms are one way of allowing young people to engage without being judged and to be anonymous.”
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Update
Young people leading the HIV response
17 July 2016
17 July 2016 17 July 2016To ensure that young people have the information and tools required to actively engage in the 21st International AIDS Conference, the Durban Youth Force, a coalition of youth advocates, convened a youth preconference event on 16 and 17 July at the Durban University of Technology.
The event was aimed at providing a platform for young people to acquire skills and get their views reflected in the conference outcome documents, to strengthen dialogue among young people on youth-led accountability for the Sustainable Development Goals, to take stock of youth engagement in the AIDS response and to develop a strategy for transitional leadership within the youth movement.
During the two-day event, a session was held on preparing for the fourth phase of the ACT!2015 initiative, which will run through to December 2017. ACT!2015 is a youth-led social action initiative to inspire a new wave of activism in the AIDS response by using social media and online technology to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Michel Sidibé, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, spoke to the participants about the critical role that young people can play in holding governments accountable for their commitments to the AIDS response and for advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Speakers at the closing session included Princess Tessy of Luxembourg and Princess Sikhanyiso of Swaziland.
Quotes
“Young people must be in the lead in mobilizing their communities, holding their governments to account and finding new ways to monitor the effectiveness of the HIV response to ensure that our programmes and investments are reaching those most in need.”
“My passion, my interest and my commitment to women’s rights, women’s empowerment and women’s health, to sexual and reproductive health and to our right to choice is something that I’ve always had.”
“We must put an end to inequality worldwide. We must leave no one behind.”
“This was the first International AIDS Conference after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, making young people’s strong participation a critical element to advance the AIDS response and ensure access to services, human rights for all and youth-led accountability.”
“We, the young people, now are not only demanding our meaningful engagement but are also working to ensure that our leaders and governments are held accountable for their commitments made for achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
Documents
AIDS by the numbers — AIDS is not over, but it can be
21 November 2016
Huge progress has been made since 2000 and millions of lives have been saved. But there are still important milestones to reach, barriers to break and frontiers to cross. The world has agreed to meet a set of global targets by 2020 as part of UNAIDS Fast-Track strategy to end the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat.
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Prevention gap report
11 July 2016
Efforts to reach fewer than 500 000 new HIV infections by 2020 are off track. This simple conclusion sits atop a complex and diverse global tapestry. Data from 146 countries show that some have achieved declines in new HIV infections among adults of 50% or more over the last 10 years, while many others have not made measurable progress, and yet others have experienced worrying increases in new HIV infections. More on the Prevention Gap report | Slides are also available for download | Download summary
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Update
South Africa launches national campaign for young women and adolescent girls
24 June 2016
24 June 2016 24 June 2016The Deputy President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, launched an ambitious national campaign to prevent HIV among young women and adolescent girls on 24 June in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The campaign will respond to the unacceptably high rate of new HIV infections among young women and adolescent girls in the country.
Almost 2000 new HIV infections occur among young women and adolescent girls (aged 15–24) in South Africa each week, a rate two and a half times that among males of the same age. The name of the campaign – to be determined through a competition among young women and adolescent girls themselves – will be announced at a later date. The campaign, developed with technical support from UNAIDS, UNFPA and other cosponsors, seeks to reduce the interlinked problems of HIV, school dropout, teenage pregnancy and gender-based violence and to maximize health, education and economic opportunities for young women and adolescent girls.
The three-year campaign will focus initially on the subdistricts with the highest incidence of HIV and will increase access to sexual and reproductive health information and services through adolescent- and youth-friendly clinics, the Integrated School Health Programme, community and peer outreach and support and parenting programmes for parents of teenagers and for teenage and young parents.
Special emphasis will be given to keeping young women in secondary and tertiary education. Young women have had a strong voice in developing the campaign, which will remain youth-led. The campaign has been funded through the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief DREAMS initiative, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the German development agency KfW and the national government.
Quotes
“Young women and girls are the heart and future of South Africa. We must together safeguard and support them as they make their transition to adulthood … protecting them from dangers, including HIV transmission.”
“We know that when a girl, a future mother, has access to health services and is HIV-free, is given a choice over when she marries and starts having children and has the opportunity to realize her full economic and social potential, she can escape disease and poverty and bring her family, community and country along with her.”
“We have procured new coloured and scented condoms to increase condom use among young people. They provide the four maximums: maximum pleasure, maximum protection, maximum quality and maximum number of young people making use of them.”
“UNFPA as the lead on prevention of sexual transmission of HIV, including among young women and girls, in the Joint UN Team on AIDS in South Africa, finds this launch to be an exciting and timely move by the government and is backed by the recent United Nations Political Declaration on Ending AIDS.”
“This campaign will empower youth to be able to make informed decisions. It is exciting that issues affecting young women will be addressed adequately. We stand to support this initiative as it seeks to secure a better future for youth.”
“This is not a campaign, but a movement, which I believe has the power to change and transform the lives of millions of young women, girls and men across our beloved country by ensuring that they are informed, educated, healthy and able to take full control of their bodies and future.”
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Update
New ways to engage youth to reach the UNAIDS Fast-Track Targets through edutainment
10 June 2016
10 June 2016 10 June 2016Initiatives conducted in partnership with mass media outlets have proved to positively contribute to changing the HIV-related attitudes and behaviours of millions of people at very low cost. Edutainment designs characters and storylines to provide viewers with positive role models to relate to, often at a personal and emotional level.
At a side event on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS, being held in New York, United States of America, from 8 to 10 June, UNAIDS Brazil, Globo and other partners discussed how television, both web-based and other forms, can help educate people on issues related to living with HIV by focusing on people and not statistics.
Held on 9 June and entitled “New ways to engage youth to reach the UNAIDS Fast-Track Targets through edutainment,” the side event highlighted innovative ways of working with young people in Brazil. In the country, UNAIDS and Globo have started a partnership to reach young people and discuss a variety of issues, from HIV prevention to testing, treatment and the human rights of vulnerable populations and people living with HIV. UNAIDS has also partnered with the Brazilian Government to promote activism and the leadership of young people. Together, the country is implementing new ways to engage young people to reach the UNAIDS Fast-Track Targets.
The global commitment to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 will demand increased investment in innovative and creative approaches that are able to Fast-Track the response and reach young people and people left behind. Innovative and creative approaches are needed to reduce stigma around HIV and promote HIV testing, prevention, care and treatment.
At the event, young people from Brazil and Africa gave examples of how they can be engaged in the response to the AIDS epidemic. Alejandra Oraa, from CNN and UNAIDS Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Latin America and the Caribbean, and James Chau, from CCTV and UNAIDS National Goodwill Ambassador for China, spoke about their experiences in working with large media for outreach.
Quotes
“The key to our success in the AIDS response so far has been the engagement and contribution of people living with HIV and vulnerable populations.”
“We now have a strong document—the Political Declaration—to use for the multilateral system to push for youth empowerment.”
“With great outreach power comes great responsibility.”
“I am an actor. I don’t know how to speak about numbers and statistics. But I do know how to talk and reach people through feelings.”
“We can only change behaviour with through empathy. That is why we worked with a group of young people from vulnerable populations to identify gaps.”
“To transform the AIDS response, we need to drive hearts as well as minds.”
“I believe that the media has a huge role to play in the AIDS response to reach people left behind.”
Update
Leaving no one behind: ending stigma and discrimination through social justice and inclusive societies
09 June 2016
09 June 2016 09 June 2016The AIDS epidemic will not be ended without efforts to end discrimination, respond to exclusion and advance social justice, according to a panel meeting held on 9 June during the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS, taking place in New York, United States of America, from 8 to 10 June.
The panel, entitled “Leaving no one behind: ending stigma and discrimination through social justice and inclusive societies,” stressed that upholding the values of inclusion and social justice is fundamental to creating societies that advance dignity and share the benefit of wealth and health for all. It called for seizing the unparalleled opportunity offered by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the newly adopted Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS to realize the vision of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 in a manner grounded in the principles of equality, inclusion and respect for the rule of law.
The panel highlighted the efforts of civil society in demanding protection against stigma and discrimination and calling for justice, dignity and access to health services for all. Yet, panellist and speakers recognized that across the world, women and girls, young people, migrants, sex workers, men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, transgender people and prisoners continue to be left behind because of discriminatory and punitive laws, policies and practices. Participants also expressed concern about restrictive legal and policy environments that hinder the work of civil society organizations in supporting the HIV response.
The panel called for moving from recognition of these challenges to actions for addressing them. It noted that an epidemic such as AIDS can be transformed into a pathfinder for addressing structural inequalities and vulnerabilities provided that all stakeholders translate their commitments to leaving no one behind into concrete programmes and funding for human rights.
The panel concluded with an urgent call for action on the following: ending discrimination in health care, education and the workplace; addressing intellectual property regimes that prevent millions of people from accessing life-saving HIV, hepatitis and other treatments; removing punitive laws that block effective responses for people living with HIV and other key populations; investing in human rights programmes and efforts by civil society; and setting clear goals with targets and indicators on ending discrimination, repealing punitive laws and advancing social justice.
Quotes
"There will be no end of AIDS without addressing the laws, policies and practices that make women, young people, prisoners, sex workers, men who have sex with men and people who use drugs vulnerable to HIV and limit their access to health services. Now is the time to expand human rights programmes that work and have proved successful in addressing discrimination in different contexts. More broadly, there can be no achievement of the health targets in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 without commitment to SDGs 5, 10 and 16 and the vision of eliminating inequalities and building inclusive societies.”
“Decriminalization of drug use, same-sex relationships and sex work is a matter of urgency. Instead of criminalizing, we should promote protective laws, policies and practices. This will make ending the AIDS epidemic a lot easier!”
“Gender inequality remains the most pervasive form of inequality around the world. Women and girls face extraordinary, and often intersecting, forms of discrimination. This is especially true for women living with HIV, migrants and refugee women, adolescent girls, women who use drugs or are sex workers, and lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and men. This is why in our work we must always aim to reach the last woman.”