Youth: Providing Leadership on AIDS and Demanding Accountability

Transcript (.pdf)

For more information on this session, including access to speaker presentations, please see the conference Programme-at-a-Glance.

Too many young people are living with or otherwise affected by HIV. While countries have committed themselves to ensuring that young people receive adequate information and services to protect themselves from HIV infection and have access to HIV treatment, care and support when living with HIV, progress on implementation of the commitments is very slow. Young people's needs are often overlooked in national AIDS strategies and programming. In particular, the need for youth friendly services and for action to eliminate stigma and discrimination against young people is ignored. Time has come to hold leaders accountable for their existing commitments, ask those who have made any to make specific commitments for youth, and to urge them to step up efforts significantly to secure universal access to youth-appropriate HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. This interactive session with four youth leaders and four highest-level representatives of UN agencies and national or international AIDS programmes will discuss and debate HIV-related policies and programmes targeting young people and identify the gaps and challenges to achieving universal access for young people. Young people will ask these adult leaders to make further commitments for young people, and to ensure meaningful youth participation in all aspects of the response to HIV.

Presentations in This Session:

Introduction

What UNICEF Could Improve to Achieve a Better World for Young People Born with HIV

Stephanie Raper (Australia)
Young Positives

Anthony Lake (United States)
Executive Director, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Filling the Gaps: What Could Donors Commit to Ensure Effective and Efficient Funding for HIV-related Youth Programmes

Ricardo Baruch (Mexico)

Michel Kazatchkine (Switzerland)
Executive Director, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Harm Reduction and Young People: an Element That Can't be Ignored in Order to Build a Supportive Environment for Young IDUs

Nikhil Gurung (Nepal)

HIV-Free Young Generation: What Can be Done to Achieve this Vision in South Africa

Nkonzo Khanyile (South Africa)

Questions and Answers

Conclusions

Youth: Providing Leadership on AIDS and Demanding Accountability (.mp3)