AEGiS-15IAC: Youth empowerment and inclusion.

15th International AIDS Conference

Bangkok, Thailand - July 11-16, 2004

Youth empowerment and inclusion.

Int Conf AIDS 2004 Jul 11-16; 15:(abstract no. E10018)

Mac-Ikemenjima DP
Rivers State College of Education, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

ISSUES: Youth are working as hard as all other stakeholders in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Yet their actions suffer from; lack of mainstream support, lack of participation in policy development and implementation, inadequate access to communication infrastructure, inadequate publicity and lack of community recognition.

DESCRIPTION: It is appreciable however, that youth constitute 30% of global HIV/AIDS infection. As a result, they need to be equipped and commissioned by their various communities as ambassadors towards HIV prevention in the community. This focus of this paper is to highlight the roles youth are playing in the fight against AIDS and the need for the donor community and governments to support youth initiatives. Mainstream support provided for youth initiatives through; direct funding, capacity building, participation in policy making and trainings, shall go a long way to facilitate progress in the fight against AIDS.

LESSONS LEARNED: On all the boards of the national, state and local action committees on AIDS in Nigeria, there are no youth- youth representatives and the youth are not considered worthy for this role.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Youth need to be equipped and carried along in decision-making and implementation processes of their communities, to enable them maximally harness their potentials for the benefit of the community.

Keywords: AEGIS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, HIV Infections, Health Planning Guidelines, Residence Characteristics, Health Services Needs and Demand, HIV Seropositivity, Policy Making, Adolescent Health Services, Adolescent Behavior, Nigeria, Adolescent, Humans

040711
E10018