ICYO – Youth Information  November 2007/74

                      (E-Newsletter from network of youth organizations in India)

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -=-=

ICYO - Platform of 356 Youth Organizations in India.       

ICYO - India’s largest network of urban and rural youth.

-------------------------------

World AIDS Day 2007

Theme of the Year “Leadership”

Messages on WAD

Message from Secretary General, ICYO

HIV/AIDS has become a disease of young people, with young adults aged 15-24 accounting for half of the new cases of HIV infection worldwide each year. Yet young people often lack the information, skills and services they need to protect themselves from HIV infection. Providing these is crucial to turning back the epidemic.

Young people have a vital role in the prevention and control of HIV infection. Their role extends from protecting themselves, protecting their peers to protecting their families and their community.

ICYO beliefs promotion of Leadership amongs the young people is timely needed. They become the peer educator, role model or they lead and guild not only youth but also all community.

The Youth leaders can spread knowledge on human sexuality and better human relationship, which help to avert health problems and create more mature and responsible attitudes in young people.

Lets Join hands to develop the Leadership in Youth to protect them from HIV/AIDS.

Ravi Narayan

Secretary General,

Indian Committee of Youth Organizations, India

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Message from Mr Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General, United Nations

 

The theme of this World AIDS Day is leadership. Without it, we will never get ahead of the epidemic.

AIDS is a disease unlike any other. It is a social issue, a human rights issue, an economic issue. It targets young adults just as they should be contributing to economic development, intellectual growth, and bringing up young children. It is taking a disproportionate toll on women. It has made millions of children orphans. It does to society what HIV does to the human body -- reduces resilience and weakens capacity, hampers development and threatens stability.

This does not need to happen. We have the means to prevent young adults from becoming infected. We have the means to treat those who are infected. We have the means to provide care and support.

We have made tangible and remarkable progress on all these fronts. But we must do more. Although new data shows that global HIV prevalence has levelled off, the numbers are still staggering. It is our crucial mission to ensure that everyone can access HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. This includes migrants, sex workers, injecting drug users, and men who have sex with men. It includes people who work in Government, banks, legal offices, schools, and international organizations. It includes all people -- wherever they live, whatever they do.

Overcoming stigma remains one of our biggest challenges. It is still the single biggest barrier to public action on AIDS. It is one of the reasons why the epidemic continues to wreak its devastation around the world.

Today, I call for renewed leadership in eradicating stigma associated with HIV. I applaud the brave individuals who live openly with HIV, who advocate tirelessly for the rights of the HIV-positive, who educate others about AIDS. I call for leadership among Governments in fully understanding the epidemic, so that resources go where they are most needed. And I call for leadership at all levels to step up the work to scale up towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010 – as pledged by all Governments last year. We have only two years left until that target date.

We need to show leadership now.

Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General, United Nations

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Message from Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS

 

Today, millions of people around the globe are marking the 20th World AIDS Day. For some, this may be the only day in the year they think about AIDS. For many, however, AIDS is part of daily life.

Since the first World AIDS Day in 1988, when the World Health Organization called on everyone to “Join the Worldwide Effort”, AIDS has become one of the defining issues of our time.

The epidemic has globalized – and feminized. In 1988, most recorded cases of HIV were still in the United States, and most were among men. Today, HIV is present in every country in the world, and half those living with HIV are women.

The response has globalized also. Last year, UN Member States committed to scale up towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. More than 2.5 million people in developing countries are now receiving life-lengthening antiretroviral drugs. HIV infections, in many countries, are declining.

The challenge now is sustain this leadership, to keep AIDS at the top of the agenda, and to accelerate action at national and local level. Any slackening of leadership would be fatal.

The epidemic reached global proportions precisely because it took so long for the world to act. And although we are beginning to make progress, there remains a long way to go.

There is still a serious shortfall in resources for AIDS, and stigma and discrimination around AIDS continue to prevail. As a result, two-thirds of those who require antiretroviral treatment are unable to access it. Less than one in ten people at risk of HIV infection have the means to protect themselves.

Sustaining leadership and accelerating action on AIDS isn’t something just for politicians. It involves religious leaders, community, youth and council leaders, chief executives and trade union leaders. It involves people living with HIV, and their families and friends. It involves you, me – each and every one of us – taking the lead to eliminate stigma and discrimination, to advocate for more resources to tackle AIDS.

And it requires us all to focus on AIDS every day of the year. Only then can we hope to achieve the global goal of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.

Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Message from Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO

 

AIDS, a disease which was not even known a quarter of a century ago, is now the fourth leading cause of death in the world. Today, approximately 40 million people are living with HIV, and in every region of the world, the proportion of women among those who are becoming newly infected with HIV is increasing. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to bear the brunt of this global epidemic, with life expectancy in the hardest hit countries shortened by more than 20 years. And, despite significant efforts by governments, civil society, and international development partners, young people between the ages of 15 and 25 comprise around half of new HIV infections.

AIDS remains a disease of inequality. Gender inequality, driven largely by the highly disadvantaged social and economic status of women compared to men, compounds women’s biological vulnerability to HIV. Social inequality, fuelled by stigma and discrimination, prejudice and human rights violations, affects the ability of key populations including injecting drug users, men who have sex with men, and sex workers, to access HIV prevention, treatment and care services. Young people, because of their age and other socio-cultural barriers, are often denied access to the full range of information and services required to prevent HIV infection and to meet their treatment, care and other support needs. Finally, economic inequalities can lead to abuses of power and increased sexual risk-taking, as evidenced by those engaging in transactional sex to procure food or other basic needs for themselves and their children.

This year, World AIDS Day is dedicated to the theme of ‘leadership’. It is a theme that recognizes the need for a strategic vision, for focused and sustained action, for empowerment and motivation, and for accountability. It is a theme that should resonate for all of us – as leadership is required by everyone including governments, development partners, the private sector, civil society, communities and individuals in order to prevent the spread of HIV, to build capacity to respond to the impact of AIDS, and to overcome inequalities that have greatly impeded our response to date.

As we move into the second quarter-century of the AIDS response, leadership will require reflection and actions based on important lessons we have learned on what needs to be done. We understand now the importance of “knowing your epidemic”, including the nature, dynamics and characteristics of the epidemic at the country level, to ensure that strategies are adapted and fit local conditions. We know that HIV prevention is most effective when delivered through a comprehensive programme that addresses not only risk but also vulnerabilities and that builds on synergies between prevention, treatment, care and support. We know that our actions must be informed by evidence and experience on what is known and proven to be effective. Finally, more than ever, we are aware that we cannot be complacent in our efforts, but rather display unwavering determination and a strong will over the long term, drawing on the strengths and contributions of all partners.

These lessons are reflected in UNESCO’s work and its revised Strategy for Responding to HIV and AIDS. The revised strategy gives priority to fulfilling UNESCO’s responsibilities under the UNAIDS division of labour, including as the lead organization for HIV prevention with young people in educational institutions.

UNESCO is also the lead agency of EDUCAIDS, the UNAIDS Global Initiative on Education and HIV & AIDS, which provides an important partnership framework for Member States to move forward in implementing comprehensive education sector responses to HIV and AIDS. At the same time, drawing upon its multisectoral expertise, UNESCO supports and partners with other UNAIDS Cosponsors in areas of intervention that they lead.

At the global level, increased political commitment and leadership on AIDS are greatly enhancing the potential to act. In June 2006, the UN General Assembly adopted a new Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS in which world leaders committed to work together towards the provision of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support programmes by 2010, an effort strongly supported by recent G8 pledges.

Leadership is also in evidence through the increased financing for AIDS, not only from governments and international bodies, but also from major foundations and philanthropists. But many more resources will be needed urgently if the 2010 target is to be met.

The progress made to date is a tribute to leadership at all levels but, as recent history has demonstrated, we must continue to intensify our efforts, adapt our actions to the epidemiological and social situations on the ground, and mobilize sufficient financial resources for the AIDS response in the time to come. I urge everyone to use the occasion of this year’s World AIDS Day to deepen their personal and professional leadership. I pledge UNESCO’s firm commitment to fulfilling its role in the global response to HIV and AIDS.

Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Youth Information is published by

Indian Committee of Youth Organizations (ICYO)

194-A, Arjun Nagar, Safdarjang Enclave

New Delhi 110029, India

Phone: 91 9811729093  / 91 11 26183978 Fax 91 11 26198423

Email: icyoindia@... / icyo@...

Web:  www.icyo.in

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Indian Committee of Youth Organizations (ICYO) is a registered non-profit, non-governmental network organization, committed in developing areas of mutual cooperation and understanding among different youth voluntary agencies, youth groups, clubs and individuals working in the field of youth welfare in India. 

ICYO functions as an umbrella organization of youth NGOs in India. It's family consists of
over 356 organizations spread in 122 districts of 22 states from different corners of India.

Our goal:
To improve and extend the youth work and services through Youth Organizations;
To enhance and demonstrate youth work in the society;
To promote effective youth programmmes;
To organize network of civil society organizations working towards the development of youth work;
To organize seminars, conferences, workshops, trainings;
To maintain international relation with organizations promoting young people in their programmes and activities

Affiliation: 

Consultative (Roster) Status with ECOSOC, United Nations;
Consultative Status with Commission on Sustainable Development;
Full Member of World Assembly of Youth (WAY); Asian Youth Council (AYC);
Youth for Habitat International Network (YFHIN); CRIN, South Asia Youth
Environment Network (SAYEN), Affiliate group of ECPAT International, Thailand;
ATSECE-DELHI, Indian Partner of AIDS Care Watch Campaign;
Steering Committee member of World Bank's YDP Network;
Working relation with Indian Association of Parliamentarians (IAPPD);
International Medical Parliamentarians Organizations (IMPO);
Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD);
World Youth Foundation, Malaysia.