Newsletter Issue: April 2008

Speakers Corner

Keen Mind From West Africa
Kolawole Oreoluwa
Nigeria

At every opportunity, reaching policy makers is critical to ensure that youth-friendly policies/programs on HIV are adopted and promoted by the world and International AIDS Conferences are the greatest gathering to advocate for these policies. On August 3 – 8, 2008 the XVII International AIDS Conference will take place in Mexico where health professionals, decision- makers, advocates, researchers and young people around the world will engage in dialogue regarding the challenges facing the global response to HIV/AIDS.

I do not know if there is, but I have never seen a policy on HIV for young Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) or care of young IDU already infected with HIV in my beloved country, Nigeria. Young Injecting Drug Users are also a vulnerable group that has gotten little or no attention.

At this year’s conference, I hope there will be a special focus on young IDUs because there is an upward trend in injection and non-injection drug use.

Harm reduction interventions are effective and cost-effective approaches to address HIV/AIDS amongst the drug using populations and there is now large international evidence-based support of harm reduction interventions (International Harm Reduction Association, 2006). These harm reduction interventions include peer education, outreach, needle and syringe exchange programs, substitution treatment, voluntary counseling and testing, health education and behavioural change communications.

Injection drug use (IDU) has been increasing steadily in Africa over the last 15 years. At least 26 countries have reported the presence of IDU - with Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritius, South Africa, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin and Togo amongst those most affected. In Nigeria, Rapid Situation Assessment (RSA) surveys carried out in the cities of Lagos (Adelekan et al 2000), Kano and Port-Harcourt (Lawal et al 2003), and Ibadan, Benin, Calabar, Maiduguri and Kaduna (Lawal et al 2005) all show an upward trend in injecting and non-injection drug use.

It is no more a story that harm reduction services and interventions in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa are currently lagging behind the rest of the world. There is, therefore, an urgent need to advocate for harm reduction approaches in other to prevent HIV, Hepatitis and all other blood borne viruses among young Injection Drug Users.

Our great youth journalists, our young indefatigable advocates, our great program managers and never tiring researchers help us make the issue of Injection Drug Users a part of our course, our song and our statement at this XVII International AIDS Conference: the largest gathering of health professionals and advocates in the world.

Make history, save the lives of our brothers and sisters!

African Youth Consultative Meeting on Universal Access & Advocacy: The Road Towards Universal Access

Mwansa Charity Njelesani

In a bid to strengthen African youth voices around Universal Access, the African Youth and Adolescent Network on Population and Development (AfriYAN), with support from Youth Vision-Zambia & OSISA brought together, thirty African youth, from ten different African countries, to Lusaka Zambia from 18th-21st March 2008. These young leaders deliberated on Universal Access to comprehensive HIV Prevention, treatment and care and drafted a roadmap for contributing to UA targets, with a concrete action plan. Youth adult partners, such as the Minister of Sport, Youth & Child Development, UNFPA and Fr. Michael Kelly (a prominent educationalist), were in attendance to support the young leaders throughout the process.

Participants felt that it was critical that government approaches to the issue, and HIV programmes in general, become more holistic. Beyond box-cutter programming, governments and organizations have a moral obligation to support the development of the self-wroth and dignity of African Youth. Participants felt that it was important to make the economic context, less friendly to HIV, by providing employment opportunities, decent recreational outlets for young people etc. This is in addition to making the gender context in which young people live, less friendly to HIV. This would entail a greater focus on female empowerment, gender equity and greater discussion around sexuality

Other issues highlighted included the importance of youth organizations, working in collaboration with other networks, beyond youth circles: as one participant put it, ‘how can we advocate for youth friendly services, when we lack access to any type of services in the first place, for example, in my country, Zambia, our health system is running at 30% capacity, therefore it is important that we work to have universal access for All.’

The roadmap was centered on five key areas: Comprehensive Prevention (including the debate around emerging issues such as Male Circumcision); treatment, care & support; systems & responses (such as funding, political will), linkages between sexual reproductive health & rights to HIV, as well as broader social-economic factors, that increase vulnerability to HIV, such as access to education, employment, services etc.
The detailed roadmap and proceedings from the meeting will be posted on the AfriYAN list-serve and website (www.afriyan.org), and other partner networks soon.

Updates from your Sub-Committees

Main Conference

March has been a busy month for the Mexico Youthforce Main Conference Sub-committee (MCSC). The MCSC is completing a condensed version of the Youth Pocketbook Guide to Navigating International AIDS Conferences. This short guide provides essential information to young people wishing to effectively participate in the conference. It serves as both a tool kit and call to action, encouraging young people to raise their voices and fully participate in the 2008 International AIDS Conference (IAC). The pocketbook, which is being produced with the support of PLAN International, will be available in English and Spanish.

In addition, two working groups have been established within the MCSC: one for the Youth Leadership Forum (YLF) and the other for the Youth Orientation Initiative (YOI). The YLF will be held during the conference and feature youth leaders, as well as high profile speakers. The forum will address the theme of Universal Action and review the main outcomes from the youth pre-conference.

The YOI is an initiative to support young people in preparing and strategizing for effective and meaningful participation at the conference. It involves matching young people with previous IAC experience with young people who are less familiar with the conference. This initiative will assist young people in feeling comfortable and prepared to effectively navigate the sessions and get the most out of the conference.

Reception Committee

Celebrating Youth – save the date!

The Mexico Youth Force reception subcommittee has been busy planning the Youth Opening and Reception which is the official event welcoming young people to the upcoming International AIDS Conference. The reception will be held on the evening of August 2nd, 2008, at an exact time and location which is to be determined. It will be a space to celebrate and highlight young people’s leadership in the HIV and AIDS field, featuring an inspirational speaker, soon to be announced. Through an evening of music, performances and fashion, the youth pre-conference will end on a high note, leaving everyone geared up for the AIDS Conference. Definitely a must go, so, remember: August 2nd – save the date!

Media and Communications

The Mexico YouthForce Media and Communications sub-committee recognizes the need for youth to be heard at the International AIDS Conference 2008 so we have been hard at work finalizing the youth reporter job description and collecting resources for our reporters. For more information check out the "Get Involved" section or email mediamyf@gmail.com. We have also organized the "AIDS in Focus" photography contest where youth can submit photos that express what HIV/AIDS means to you and your community (please see the "Get Involved" section of this newsletter for more information). In addition we have started to develop the YouthForce press kits for the conference that will include valuable information such as background on the epidemic, advocacy messages and much more!

Get Involved

"AIDS in Focus" photography contest

The Mexico YouthForce wants you to express what AIDS means to you and your community through photography. The beauty of photography is that it has the ability to transcend language barriers and to allow cross-cultural dialogue and understanding which is so important when facing this global epidemic. To learn more about the contest please go to http://www.tigurl.org/aidsfocus.

Youth Journalist at XVII International AIDS Conference

The Mexico YouthForce is looking for energetic and dedicated Youth Journalists to cover the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City August 3-8. Through writing, blogging, podcasting, photography and video, this team of Youth Journalists will bring youth issues to the forefront of the conference agenda and offer a youth perspective on the important events, announcements and presentations through their reporting. The overall goal of the Youth Journalist team will be to provide excellent coverage of Mexico YouthForce activities, as well as the main conference, not only in the interests of increasing the exposure of youth issues at the conference and in the media, but to ensure that youth unable to physically attend the conference can remain updated on conference activities that are relevant to youth and HIV/AIDS. To learn more about this opportunity please go to http://www.tigurl.org/youthj.

Become a fan of the YouthForce on Facebook!

You also can become a fan of the Mexico YouthForce on Facebook. Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/YouthForce/8802473399 and become a fan now!

Submit Your Artwork!

Artwork has a way of expressing thoughts, feelings and beliefs that simply cannot be captured into words. It has the ability to transcend language barriers and touch a soul. The Mexico YouthForce has started a Global Gallery Collection on TakingITGlobal (www.TakingITGlobal.org) and would like to invite you to submit your artwork on what HIV/AIDS means to you and your community. To view the collection please visit http://www.tigurl.org/hivaidsgg.

To submit your works please visit here.

Resources

Want to learn more about HIV/AIDS? Check out TakingITGlobal’s "Understanding the Issues" section where you can download the HIV/AIDS Youth Guide to Action, access more resouces on the web, browse blogs and learn more about the issue. http://issues.takingitglobal.org/hiv.

Test your knowledge about HIV/AIDS through a fun game available here http://www.avert.org/hivquiz.htm.

Check out the AIDS 2008 Youth Site where you can join in discussion groups, post blogs , submit art and much more http://youthaids2008.org/en/.

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