Young people

Press Release

Jackie Chan, UNICEF/UNAIDS goodwill ambassador, says stop discrimination against People Living with HIV/AIDS

At the conclusion of his first mission to Viet Nam, UNICEF/ UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador Jackie Chan called for an end to discrimination and stigma towards children and families infected or affected with HIV/AIDS.

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UNAIDS welcomes UK £116 million to fight AIDS and promote sexual and reproductive health

UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, today welcomes the announcement made by Hilary Benn, UK International Development Secretary, of increased funding to UNAIDS and to UNFPA to help tackle the global AIDS epidemic and improve sexual and reproductive health for women and young people in developing countries.

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UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan launches global media AIDS initiative

As part of the ongoing mobilisation of civil society in the fight against HIV/AIDS, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today met with leaders of some of the world’s leading media organizations to launch a Global Media AIDS Initiative. The Initiative aims to activate media organizations to reach the world’s people – especially youth - with information about how to prevent and treat HIV and to help combat AIDS-related stigma and discrimination.

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New cartoon for young people to raise awareness and mobilize action to tackle HIV/AIDS

Today, on Human Rights Day, three UN agencies are launching a colourful, interactive cartoon booklet called “HIV/AIDS Stand Up for Human Rights”. The cartoon is part of a global campaign to tackle HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination and other human rights violations.

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International football ace Ronaldinho to raise AIDS awareness among young people


Rio de Janeiro, 19 October 2011—Ronaldo de Assis Moreira—the Brazilian football star also known as Ronaldinho—has accepted an invitation from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and Brazil’s Ministry of Health to promote AIDS awareness through sport.

“Ronaldinho is a great inspiration to young people the world over,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “His voice will reach millions of people and bring new energy to our vision of achieving zero new HIV infections.” 

Drawing on his years of experience in professional football, Mr de Assis Moreira will use sport as a means of engaging young people and raising awareness around AIDS. “I am honoured to stand together with UNAIDS and the Ministry of Health of Brazil in the response to HIV,” said Mr de Assis Moreira. “I am delighted to make a small contribution to this important cause by doing what I do best: playing football.”

Globally there are more than 5 million young people living with HIV and every day, 2400 young people become infected with the virus. Although young people are increasingly learning how to protect themselves, only one-third of young people globally have accurate and comprehensive knowledge of how to protect themselves from HIV.

Brazil has pioneered an effective response to HIV for many years. The Brazilian Minister of Heath, Mr Alexandre Padilha said, “Ronaldinho will be an excellent role model for young people around the world and is passionate about his new role. I am confident that he will be a real asset to the global AIDS response.”

Contact

UNAIDS Brasilia
Jacqueline Cortes
tel. +55 61 3038 9220 / mobile + 55 61 9304 2654
cortesj@unaids.org

Press Release

Mali welcomes new generation of leaders for AIDS response


Young leaders empowered to lead change and hold policymakers accountable for future progress on HIV

Geneva, 15 April 2011—Over 100 young leaders from around the world are meeting in Bamako, Mali, for a three-day Global Youth Summit on HIV. The Summit, hosted by President Amadou Toumani Touré of Mali, is being held to create a new generation of leadership in the global AIDS response.

“Young people must take the leadership of the AIDS response, and they must be given the space to lead,” said President Touré, in the opening plenary of the Summit.

Despite the increase in the number of youth organizations and networks focusing on HIV, young people still face difficulties in influencing decision makers and in becoming engaged as equal partners in the AIDS response.

The Summit has been convened to empower young leaders, including young people living with HIV, to create a sustainable, youth-driven transformation of the AIDS movement. Participants will agree on strategies for young people to lead an HIV prevention revolution. They will also discuss ways of strengthening youth networks and uniting the youth and AIDS movements around the world.

“Today’s young people will assume the mantle for the next decade—ensuring social justice and equity,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). “Young people are defining the future of the global AIDS response and bringing new energy to the AIDS movement.

Participants will develop a Call to Action to empower young people and hold policymakers accountable for future progress on AIDS. This Call to Action will be launched online and will leverage the voices of young people in the lead-up to the United Nations High Level Meeting which is taking place in New York from 8-10 June 2011. “I am ready to take the Call to Action coming out of the Mali Youth Summit on HIV to the High Level Meeting at the United Nations,” said President Touré.

“We are forging a network of young leaders to take ownership of the AIDS response. We are committed to using all available options to advocate for world leaders to redouble their commitment to the AIDS response at the High Level Meeting on AIDS in June," said Eunwoo Kim, co-chair of the steering committee of the Mali Youth Summit on HIV.

In 2009, people aged 15-24 accounted for 41% of new HIV infections among adults. Young women are particularly vulnerable to HIV, accounting for 64% of infections among young people worldwide. Data also show that young people are leading a prevention revolution by adopting safer sexual practices. The rate of new HIV infections in young people has fallen by more than 25% in 15 of the most severely affected countries.

Contact

Contact

UNAIDS Mali
Abdoul Karim Ben Wahab
tel. +(223) 66 752 728
benwahaba@unaids.org
UNAIDS Geneva
Sophie Barton-Knott
tel. +41 22 791 1697
bartonknotts@unaids.org

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UNICEF: Young of Central Asia and Eastern Europe Suffering Blame and Banishment


VIENNA, 19 July 2010 -  An underground HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is intensifying at an alarming pace, fueled by drug use, high-risk sexual behavior and high levels of social stigma that discourage people from seeking prevention information and treatment, according to a new report released today by UNICEF.

The report, “Blame and Banishment: The underground HIV epidemic affecting children in Eastern Europe and Central Asia,” highlights the issues faced by children living with HIV, adolescents engaged in risky behaviors, pregnant women using drugs, and the more than one million children and young people who live or work on the streets of the region.   

Marginalized young people are exposed on a daily basis to multiple risks, including drug use, commercial sex and other exploitation and abuse, putting them at higher risk of contracting HIV.   The trends are especially troubling, as the region is home to 3.7 million injecting drug users – almost a quarter of the world total.  For many, initiation into drug use begins in adolescence.

Existing health and social welfare services are not tailored to adolescents at greatest risk, who are often exposed to moral judgment, recrimination and even criminal prosecution when they seek treatment and information on HIV. 

“Children and adolescents living on the margins of society need access to health and social welfare services, not a harsh dose of disapproval,” said Anthony Lake, UNICEF’s Executive Director. 

To reach and help young people living with HIV or at risk of HIV infection, medical and civil authorities need to establish non-judgmental, friendly services that address the special needs of marginalized adolescents.

In the Russian Federation, for example, over 100 youth-friendly service facilities have been established, providing reproductive and sexual health services, information, counseling and psychological support.  The Atis health center in Moldova is another initiative that is showing promise and saving lives.

“We cannot break the trajectory of the AIDS epidemic in eastern Europe and Central Asia without empowering and protecting children and adolescents,” said Michel Sidibé,  Executive Director of UNAIDS. “We must not rob them of their childhood.”

“It is our responsibility to ensure that they have access to HIV prevention and treatment services.”

An HIV prevention and treatment center in Tajikistan is breaking down barriers of mistrust to reach adolescent girls selling sex.  As one young client said, “In the beginning, I did not believe that the medical check-up, the treatment and condoms would really be free of charge and anonymous.  I thought it was another trap by the police.  I agreed to go there with an outreach worker for the first time, but now I go there alone and encourage my friends to use the service as well.”

A recent six-country UNDP study conducted in the region showed that many adults living with HIV fear the social stigma attached to seeking treatment more than they fear the disease, thus driving the epidemic further underground.

The stigma associated with HIV is not restricted to adults and adolescents.  Young children living with HIV are routinely denied access to school and kindergartens, and when their status is known, they face rejection and abuse.  Alla, the foster mother of an HIV-positive child, tells how her son was ostracized when someone leaked his HIV status to other families. “His classmates say that he is ‘disgusting’ and refuse to play with him,” she said.

“This report is a call to protect the rights and dignity of all people living with or at risk of exposure to HIV, but especially vulnerable children and young people.  We need to build an environment of trust and care, not one of judgment and exclusion,” said Lake.  “Only by reversing discrimination against people living with HIV, can Eastern Europe and Central Asia begin to reverse the spread of the epidemic.”

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Contact:

UNICEF New York
Kate Donovan
+43 699 195 405 08
+1 917 378 2128
kdonovan@unicef.org

UNICEF Kyiv
Veronika Vashchenko
+ 43 699 181 496 93
vashchenko@unicef.org 

UNICEF Geneva
John Budd
+ 41 22 909 5429
jbudd@unicef.org



More on AIDS 2010, Vienna


Publications:

UNAIDS Outlook Report 2010 (pdf, 6 Mb)

UNAIDS Outcome Framework 2009-2011 (pdf, 388 Kb)

Documents

Integrating HIV/STD prevention in the school setting

01 August 1997

Young people (10 to 24 years) are estimated to account for up to 60% of all new HIV infections worldwide. Many young people can be reached relatively easily through schools; no other institutional system can compete in terms of number of young people served. Prevention and health promotion programmes should extend to the whole school setting, including students, teachers and other school personnel, parents, the community around the school, as well as school systems. Such activities are a key component of national programmes to improve the health and development of children and adolescents.

Documents

Emerging Issues for women, young people and infants

16 February 1999

This report will discuss what makes women, babies and young people specially vulnerable to HIV, and describe the strategies that have been developed to meet their needs, the work going on at present, and the future challenges. And drawing lessons from experience and examples from the field, it will identify successful approaches to HIV prevention.

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