Lebanese Family Planning Association Workshop Aims to Increase Youth Involvement in Curbing HIV/AIDS

The Lebanese Family Planning Association on Thursday in Beirut, Lebanon, opened a three-day youth workshop aimed at increasing awareness, communication and use of prevention measures to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS, Lebanon's Daily Star reports. The workshop, funded by Oxfam Quebec, included updates on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region, as well as various views about the disease among young people in Lebanon. According to the Daily Star, participants at the workshop aimed to create a youth network to disseminate information about HIV/AIDS and encourage discussion.

According to Mares Jemoun of Oxfam, about 0.01% of Lebanon's population is HIV-positive. "This disease spares no nation and can't differentiate between religion, education [or] age," Jemoun said, adding, "The increase of this disease ... negatively affects the future of these countries and their populations." He added that governments and community groups need to cooperate to scale up monitoring and awareness, especially among people ages 25 and younger (Mansour, Daily Star, 4/11).

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