Securing the Future Today: Synthesis of Strategic Information on HIV and Young People

Security the Future Today: Synthesis of Strategic Information on HIV and Young People was written after the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2010 in order to focus specifically on young people. It presents an in-depth review and analysis of 2010 country reports on United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) indicators and strategic information. The report focuses on prevention but also assesses the availability of strategic information on HIV treatment, care, and support for young people. The report covers strategic information related to young people aged 15-24 years, providing:

• an understanding of HIV prevalence;
• a description of the use of HIV prevention services;
• reports on the level of HIV knowledge; and
• descriptions of behaviours among young people that impact the spread of HIV.

The report also examines countries’ policies and spending on HIV programmes for young people.

The report can assist advocates as it make recommendations focused on programme managers and policymakers in government ministries, national HIV programmes, civil society ncluding: youth-led and youth-serving organisations; members of the Joint United Nations Team on AIDS; donors; young people; and other partners working at the national and international levels to strengthen the AIDS response for young people at the country level and, in turn, to improve the health and well-being of young people.

Some communication-related strategies listed in the recommendations section include:

• Collect, compile, and disseminate data on all relevant UNGASS indicators, including on HIV treatment (at the national and international level), disaggregated by age and sex.
• Track resources on AIDS spending categories that are relevant to young people, and obtain commitments from national governments for investing in HIV and young people.
• Expand and scale up efforts to reach young people with age-specific information that they need to support good sexual health decision-making.
• Design and adapt programmes to reach young people with tailored information in innovative ways, including by using information and communication technology (e.g. mobile phones, social media).
• Scale up the provision of comprehensive sexuality education and life skills education in and out of schools, while maintaining good quality.
• Design and adapt HIV testing and counselling services to provide young people with correct and consistent information that they can understand and act upon.
• Review and reform policies and laws that act as barriers, such as parental or spousal permission, for young people seeking HIV services.
• Identify gaps in reaching different subsets of young people who are most vulnerable and engage those that are being overlooked with outreach approaches such as sports programmes, clubs, youth groups, and other forms of peer outreach.
• Revise and enforce policies that meet human rights standards and remove legal barriers for young people to access HIV prevention services, including condoms.
• Review and reform laws and policies that penalise young people in key populations and prevent them from accessing HIV programmes and services, and advocate changing social and cultural norms
• Actively engage young people in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of HIV policies, services and programmes, together with the participation of parents and adults in the community as supportive partners.
• Provide a supportive environment whereby young people can adapt their behaviours to create more equitable roles and relationships, and impart knowledge on their human rights through legal literacy programmes.
• Enhance the leadership skills of young people to equip them to demand youth-friendly health services and programmes.
• Mobilise and enhance a movement of young people as agents for change at all levels in the AIDS response and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).