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International network of young activists to fight AIDS in Africa
Youth Against AIDS
November 27, 2001

Young people have been sidelined by governments and the international community in the fight against AIDS, even though they are bearing the brunt of the disease and have much to contribute in reducing the spread of the HIV virus.

This is the message of a new network of young AIDS activists from Africa, Europe and North America, which is being launched on the occasion of International AIDS day - December 1.

The new network is the initiative of Youth Against AIDS (YAA), an international association of young AIDS activists. YAA has associates in thirty African nations, and several universities in Europe and the United States have formed YAA chapters to support their work. Visit their website at www.yaids.org

The network is motivated by the devastating impact of AIDS on Africa's youth. The UN estimates that at least 13 million African children have lost at least one parent to AIDS. As many as ten million young Africans could be infected by the HIV virus.

In addition to these pressures, young Africans are increasingly being called upon to lead the fight against AIDS and spread the word about the risks of HIV infection, through so-called 'peer education.'

Even as they are asked to assume awesome responsibility, young people are generally excluded from the design or implementation of AIDS policy, at the national and international level. This summer, a special session of the UN General Assembly on AIDS called on governments to reach out to young people - but did little to encourage their participation at the actual meeting.

Such contradictions cause intense irritation among young activists. 'We must not be seen as a problem, but rather as a potential source for the solution,' insists Lydiah Bosire, a 24 year-old student from Kenya. 'Governments must not ignore us.'

Ms. Bosire formed Youth Against AIDS in 1999 after she lost a close relative to AIDS in Kenya and in the last three years her group has worked to define a clearer role for young people in the fight against AIDS. This summer Ms. Bosire and two YAA colleagues visited six African countries to meet with and write about their African partners.

Their stories are told in a new series of On the Record, the e-mail newsletter produced by the Advocacy Project (AP). AP has supported YAA by redesigning the YAA web site and providing funds for the visit to Africa. Visit www.advocacynet.org to learn more about AP.

One thing emerges repeatedly - it is deprivation, ignorance and coercion, rather than irresponsible behavior, that render young people most vulnerable to AIDS. One issue in the series profiles a 20 year-old sex worker in Botswana who was forced into prostitution by extreme poverty. Even middle-class students at Nigeria's largest university are driven to service rich clients ('aristos') in order to buy school books.

The new series of On the Record will be sent out to subscribers next week free of charge. It will be accompanied by a web map of YAA's African members and new illustrated pages on the YAA website. The series will begin going out on December 3, 2001. The webpages will be available on that day at www.yaids.org.

The Advocacy Project was formed in 1998 to aid community campaigners for human rights and peace. We work to make technology and information more accessible to campaigners to aid them in their advocacy efforts.

Contact details: Web address www.advocacynet.org, email address info@advocacynet.org

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