India National Youth Shadow Report of UNGASS Target towards Youth

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

Himakshi Piplani (20 years old from Pune) and Borges (27 from

Nagpur) researched and assessed India's progress achieving UNGASS

targets toward youth. The India report is one of 10 National and 7

Community-Level Youth Reports launched for this coming week's High

Level Meetings at the UN Secretariat.

himakshi@..., petervision2025@...

Ms. Piplani will also be the youth speaker on a UN Satellite Session

on youth and " Universal Access " at the Mexico International AIDS

Conference. Her participation is sponsored by the Mexico YouthForce

via the International AIDS Society. (www.youthaids2008.org).

India National Youth Shadow Report 2008

http://www.youthaidscoalition.org/docs/india.pdf

Youth Country Teams Assess their Governments' Progress on Youth and HIV

Globally, 1.7 billion young people aged 10-24 make up one quarter of

the world's population. Approximately 40% of all new HIV infections

occur among young people between 15-24 years of age, and there are 5.4

million young people living with HIV. Young people are the face of

HIV. We are at higher risk of HIV infection because we lack access to

the crucial information, education, and services to protect

themselves. However, our needs are often ignored when data is

collected and strategies on HIV and AIDS are drafted, policies

developed, and budgets allocated.

With only two years left to achieve the UNGASS goals and targets,

young people are actively participating in the tracking and reporting

of UNGASS commitments. In 2008, these young people have produced 10

UNGASS Youth Shadow Reports to present at the UNGASS, in its

seven-year review. Their research, findings and analysis will set the

tone for needs and priorities that must be taken into account during

the UNGASS High Level Meetings next week at the UN Secretariat in New

York.

In just two years, the world will evaluate ten years of work toward

" Universal Access by 2010 " to HIV and AIDS prevention, care and

treatment. While progress has been made in several areas of the AIDS

response, the targets laid out so ambitiously for youth in the 2001

Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS (DoC) will be unmet by drastic

margins; indeed, 7 years later, few governments even bother to collect

data specifically on youth.

The DoC states that by 2005, at least 90 per cent, and by 2010 at

least 95 per cent of young men and women aged 15 to 24 will have

access to the information, education, skills and services to protect

themselves from HIV infection. However, as of 2007, only 40% of young

men and 36% of young women had accurate HIV knowledge on transmission

and prevention.

http://www.youthaidscoalition.org/pages.html?page=UNGASS

The Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS is a youth-led, UNFPA and

UNAIDS supported global network of over 4,000 young leaders and adult

allies working to end the spread of HIV/AIDS in 150 countries

worldwide. Get involved at http://www.youthaidscoalition.org, or write

to info@... for more information.

Joya Banerjee | Program Director | Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS

| www.youthaidscoalition.org

joya@... | 307 West 38th Street, Suite 1805 | New

York, NY 10018 | 212.661.6111 (phone) | 1-212-661-1933 (fax) |