HIV Prevention Program for Youth
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Today, young people (15-24) account for 40 per cent of all new adult HIV infections. Each day, more than 2400 young people become infected with HIV—and some five million young people are living with HIV. Young people are a fulcrum. They remain at the center of the epidemic and they have the power, through their leadership, to definitively change the course of the AIDS epidemic. Experience over the past decade has demonstrated how to address HIV among young people . In countries with concentrated epidemics, programs and resources must focus on adolescents and youth who engage in risky behaviors, including injecting drugs, selling sex and men who have sex with men. In countries with generalized epidemics, where the general population is at risk, all vulnerable young people, particularly young women, need to be targeted priority in policy and program design. Evidence shows that sex education helps in reducing the risk of HIV by delaying the onset of sexual ...