HIV and AIDS is perhaps the biggest worry amongst youth today. More than half of those infected with the virus today are young people between the ages of 15 and 24. The World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond identifies ten priority areas for action aimed at improving the situation and well-being of youth and one of those priority areas is “The full and effective participation of youth in the life of society and in decision-making”. Youth participation is vital in the fight against HIV and AIDS, not only because their input is very useful in programme design and outreach, but because it is necessary to cultivate in them a sense of responsibility and pride. They understand their peer networks best and only need capacity building to develop, implement and monitor programmes.

Key Issues:

• The biggest obstacle in young people’s attempts to find self-driven solutions to the HIV and AIDS problem is – you guessed it – adults. Adults make up the largest number of participants in policymaking and have the greatest influence on policy. Youth programmes are often created without consulting youth. At times they are only consulted to give opinions that are quoted in researches on standards for peer education programmes.
• The Africa Youth Policy Analysis Network (Y-PAN) describes youth policy as “an important tool in the implementation of youth programmes because it provides a framework with guidelines for the facilitation of meaningful youth development programmes and services with full participation of the youth themselves” (http://www.takingitglobal.org/resources/prof/view.html?ProfID=429)
  i.What efforts have been made by local government in Southern African countries to consult with the youth in HIV policy formulation? How effective are youth councils in ensuring youth participation in sexual and reproductive programming and planning?
• Youth participation should be reflected in national HIV/AIDS policy and in subsequent programming initiated by both government and non-governmental stakeholders who determine the interventions that are rolled out to young people.
  i.For example, not only does Namibia have a Draft National Policy On HIV/AIDS for the Education Sector, but the University of Namibia also has a unique HIV/AIDS Policy, which links to the Namibian HIV/AIDS Charter of Rights. How do these policy instruments in the education sector help in shaping the curriculum in terms of broadening the scope of sexual reproductive health communication and increasing the participation of youth in behavioural change programmes?
  ii.In South Africa, a national policy on HIV/AIDS for Learners and Educators in Public Schools, or Students and Educators in Further Education and Training Institutions was published in 1999. It proposes the introduction of HIV/AIDS-related education from pre-primary level and makes it compulsory in secondary school curricula.
  iii.Compare with Zimbabwe, where the Ministry of Education discourages condom distribution in schools. How does this impact on health literacy campaigns and the options that youth have in creating self-driven behavioural change programmes?
• The media should show how youth participation has increased or decreased in countries where there has been an express recognition of the importance of youth participation in the fight against HIV and AIDS. For example, they should bring to light case studies of youth-led organisations, which have scored successes in implementing HIV prevention interventions at community or national level. The media should also go out of its way to interview youth leaders and find out what they believe is the best way to engage youth in the fight against the pandemic.

For more information:
http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=11725&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
http://www.youth-policy.com/index.cfm
http://www.kff.org/youthhivstds/index.cfm
http://www.actupny.org/YELL/YELL.html
Contact:
Christine Panchaud – Coordinator
International Clearinghouse on Curriculum for HIV/AIDS Preventive Education
International Bureau of Education (IBE)
c.panchaud@ibe.unesco.org
Family Health International - YouthNet:
A reproductive health and HIV Prevention resource for young people.
media@fhi.org