Participation & Governance

Youth Participation and Leadership: an effective tool in combating HIV / AIDS in Southern Africa

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The premise of this report is clear. Young people have a vital role to play in the battle against HIV and AIDS. Disproportionately vulnerable to, and affected by, HIV and AIDS, the young have too long been overlooked as an effective resource for tackling the pandemic. Highlighting evidence from a number of National AIDS Authorities (NAAs) already engaging young people in the pandemic response, this paper addresses three key areas. Find out more…

The premise of this report is clear. Young people have a vital role to play in the battle against HIV and AIDS. Disproportionately vulnerable to, and affected by, both HIV and AIDS, the young have too long been overlooked as an effective resource for tackling the pandemic.

Highlighting evidence from a number of National AIDS Authorities (NAAs) already engaging young people in the pandemic response, this paper addresses three key areas:

  • Highlighting the benefits of working with young people:The inclusion of young people remains sporadic, with few NAAs (even those actively engaging young people) aware of the cross-cutting benefits this has on the movement. This paper calls for increasing the awareness of such benefits.
  • Increase understanding on how to work with youth in HIV efforts:This paper is designed as a platform upon which to share best-practice examples of how young people can best support NAAs in the response to HIV and AIDS.
  • Analyse why NAAs sometimes struggle to work with young people:This paper explores those barriers currently inhibiting NAAs from working closely with young people, presenting simple, effective solutions for overcoming these challenges.

Such efforts are fundamental to ensuring that NAAs are able to tailor their programming to the real, rather than perceived, needs of young people. A willingness to engage with youth is apparent, what is needed is a step change in the extent to which young people are allowed to influence entire organisations and truly realise their potential to the cause.

The report was produced by Student Partnerships Worldwide (now Restless Development) in April 2010.

The Report:

http://www.restlessdevelopment.org/file/youth-participation-and-leadership-pdf