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Summary: Recommendations for National Youth Councils
to Address the HIV/AIDS Challenge adopted
during the XIV WAY General Assembly held in
Windhoek, Namibia (20-23 February 2005).
Recommendations for National Youth Councils to Address the HIV/AIDS
Challenge
World Assembly of Youth - XIV General Assembly
Windhoek, Namibia, 20-23 Feb 2005
“As future leaders, it is now high time for young people to look and ponder
at the current and future challenges…” H.E. Dr. Sam Nujoma, President of
the Republic of Namibia; Opening Address of WAY XIV General Assembly,
21 Feb 2005
We, the participants of the XIV General Assembly of the World Assembly of
Youth (WAY), convened in Windhoek, Namibia from 20-23rd of February
2005 to discuss how youth can rise to meet HIV/AIDS Challenge.
Over two hundred participants from XX countries around the world
participated in the XIV General Assembly.
The world faces a life-threatening challenge to address the unique needs
of young people – or lose the next generation to an avoidable and tragic
cause: HIV/AIDS. National Youth Councils (NYCs) play an essential role in
the formulation and implementation of national responses to the HIV/AIDS
pandemic. We, as the XIV General Assembly participants from around the
world recommend the following actions and interventions for National
Youth Councils to effectively address the HIV/AIDS challenge facing young
people across the world.
Recommendations
Youth and Policy
1. National Youth Councils (NYCs) need to be involved throughout the
development process of any policy affecting youth and HIV/AIDS
2. Create an enabling environment for appropriate laws and polices by
promoting policy dialogue for HIV/STI prevention and care at all levels to
mobilize resources, ensure ownership and sustainability, and promote a
rights-based approach
3. Foster the participation of all youth in HIV/AIDS policy development and
programmes, including those with disabilities and people living with
HIV/AIDS
4. Work closely with a single-coordinating National AIDS Council and
promote the decentralization of AIDS councils down to the local levels
5. NYCs need to be autonomous to prevent overly strong influence from
their ministries to enhance their prominence at regional and international
levels
6. Establish Youth Parliaments in countries where they do not exists to
create a platform of consultation among lawmakers and youth
Gender Dimensions
7. Mainstream gender dimensions into all aspects of STIs and HIV/AIDS
interventions, including: educational attainment, elimination of gender-
based violence/coercive sex, empowerment of women and girls to exercise
rights, empowerment to negotiate condom use, elimination of harmful
traditional practices and all forms of stigma and discrimination, redefinition
of stereotypical gender roles, and increased positive involvement of men
and boys
Prevention
8. Prevention must remain the key strategy in combating HIV/AIDS.
Preventive-education consisting of raising awareness, developing
knowledge and skills to reduce infections, access to care, support and
counseling, and empowering decision-makers from national to community
levels
Multi-Sectoral Approach
9. Employ a multi-sectoral program approach as the roots of the HIV/AIDS
epidemic are complex, reflecting cultural, economic, legal, and gender-
based challenges
10. Policies and programmes must address the underbelly of the HIV/AIDS
epidemic by simultaneously focusing on gender, culture, poverty, and
human rights to eliminate the vulnerability barriers surrounding HIV/AIDS
11. Respect cultural dimensions of HIV/AIDS while addressing harmful
practices, and supporting adherence to the internationally endorsed
principles of human rights
Community Mobilization
12. Results-based programmes targeting behaviour change should be
founded on evidence-based socio-cultural research of culture, attitudes,
and practices of all beneficiaries reflecting young people, and the
community leaders who are the custodians of cultural norms and practices
13. Engage community and its traditional, religious and cultural leaders in
programme design to encourage ownership, acceptability, utilization and
sustainability
14. Family-unit must be targeted in HIV prevention programming as the
first agent of socialization among young people
Sexual and Reproductive Health
15. Capacity development for professionals, service providers, teachers
and other members of the school community, as well as peer educators
and parents to address youth sexual and reproductive health needs
16. Utilize Sexual and Reproductive Health programmes as entry point for
HIV/AIDS initiatives (ie. maternal health, family planning, and STI
management) to provide HIV prevention counseling, HIV voluntary
counseling and testing, male and female condoms, STI management, and
antiretroviral drugs
17. Comprehensive condom programming to improve availability, access
and use of both male and female condoms for dual protection;
18. Development of skills for prevention and management of STIs and
counseling
19. Advocacy for voluntary counselling and testing for HIV (VCT) care and
support;
M&E
20. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) plan must be integrated into any NYC-
lead programme on HIV/AIDS, and NYCs should strive to provide monitoring
assistance to government-driven HIV/AIDS programmes among young
people
Knowledge Sharing
21. Adopt culture of information-sharing and cross-fertilization of good
practices between countries at all levels
22. Networking between regional NYCs should be systemized
23. Networking with community associations and institutions playing critical
roles in defining social norms
24. Take initiative to train ourselves as youth leaders to understand and
enhance the role of young people in moving youth platform forward
25. Promote and package awareness and advocacy initiatives that build on
the positive socio-cultural values and norms in communities to address the
adolescent/youth SRH needs and concerns
Resources
26. Investment of modest resources to combat HIV/AIDS now will prevent
high economic and human costs in the future
27. Programme design must ensure that maximum resources allocated
through National Youth Councils are reaching intended beneficiaries
28. Advocate for government support towards research and development
of nationally produced ARV’s, and lobby for access to free and/or
subsidized ARVs
29. Advocate for non-politicalization of the Global Fund to ensure funds are
provided fairly and to countries with limited resources and worst affected
by HIV/AIDS
30. Create and maintain partnership with governments, Donors, UN
agencies, Breton Woods Institutions (BWI), regional and sub-regional
institutions and others to mobilize resources, materials and technical
assistance for HIV/AIDS programming
Actions for World Assembly of Youth
31. Establish a WAYAIDS Fund through the Secretariat to coordinate,
catalyze and mobilize funds for NYC-managed HIV/AIDS Programmes
32. Utilize the central WAYAIDS Fund to expand strategic alliances with
national governments, NGOs, bi/multi-lateral donors, private sector, media,
FBOs, CBOs, PLWAS
33. WAY ExCo and NYCs should better reflect gender equity in its
membership
34. WAY should define and practice a consistent classification of “youth” to
ensure suitable participation, and that program and policy is addressing
intended beneficiaries.
Our generation is being lost to HIV/AIDS. Business as usual is not
enough. We, the young people of the world have made these
recommendations to guide and inform the development of National Youth
Council Plans of Action. Youth must rise to the challenge to address
HIV/AIDS as fundamental condition for global human development.