AIDS 2006: Youth Site


Main Conference Jump to the articles below! Time to Deliver: Toronto Youth Force kicks off AIDS 2006 Pre-Conference Advocating for Toronto Youth Force (TYF): What does this mean? Youth-Adult Partnerships Trade Issues: What’s Behind Access to Essential Medicine? (Oxfam International) Trade Issues: What’s Behind Access to Essential Medicine? From “Mumbo Jumbo” to Engagement: Building Youth’s Literacy in Research Methods Time to Deliver: Toronto Youth Force kicks off AIDS 2006 Pre-Conference Colleen Patterson, Chief Youth Rapporteur Toronto Youth Force ambassadors from around the world gathered yesterday at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine for the AIDS 2006 Youth Pre-Conference. The purpose of this event was to ensure successful youth participation during the AIDS 2006 Conference to be held at the Metropolitan Toronto Convention Centre August 13-18, 2006 in Toronto, Canada. Youth Ambassadors were brought together to help figure out what can be done collectively to reach a 2005 target whereby 90% of youth worldwide would be knowledgeable of HIV transmission. Current UNAIDS statistics report only 1 in 3 young men and 1 in 5 young women have knowledge of how to prevent HIV transmission. “We are alive today and we need to create some change”, said Mary Otieno, Technical Advisor on Young People and HIV/AIDS for UNFPA. The goal of the Toronto Youth Taskforce for the AIDS 2006 conference is to facilitate the collaboration of stakeholders committed to HIV/AIDS issues and to empower youth to be effective participants in the conference. “We want this year’s conference to be remembered for youth involvement,” said Maryanne Pribila of Family Health International. Beth Pellettieri, Advocates for Youth, went on to say, “The Toronto Youth Force is seeking out written commitments from International leaders.” The pre-conference has been designed to help youth participants better understand and digest many of the topics that will be discussed at AIDS 2006. Once the Pre-Conference is complete the youth ambassadors will be able to approach stakeholders and policy makers on behalf of their communities. This year’s conference theme is Time to Deliver. The Toronto YouthForce is advocating for world leaders to put their commitments in writing and deliver on their promises. Advocating for Toronto Youth Force (TYF): What does this mean? Colleen Patterson, Chief Youth Rapporteur Presenters: Beth Pellettieri, AFY; Joya Banerjee, GYCA Picture This! You’re attending the AIDS 2006 Conference in Toronto, Canada. It is sometime between August 13-18, 2006. You are at the Metropolitan Toronto Convention Centre, you run into an elevator and surprise… That very important diplomat, with all the influence in your community/country is standing next to you. You have 45 seconds to advocate for an issue or project very closely concerning you and the people you work/live with. How do you effectively deliver your message and convince this person to help you? This is the exercise youth ambassadors from around the world received at the Advocating for TYF training session today. It was explained all youth attending the AIDS 2006 Youth Pre-Conference are a part of the Toronto Youth Force and the youth ambassadors may find themselves in situations where they are being asked to speak to media. Youth may also have opportunities to appeal to stakeholders and policy makers on behalf of their communities and/or organizations. This is a great responsibility especially since there will not be a lot of time to gain support from these much needed allies for change. Youth ambassadors were tasked with answering a series of questions in relation to the change they would like to see brought about. What do you want? What do you have? Who can you work with? Who can give you what you want? What tactics can you use to get it? Youth then received useful information for situations they may find themselves in. When speaking to the media; Be clear; be concise, on point and specific. Make sure they know and understand what you are talking about. Use easily understandable language. If possible use statistics, give a personal example and try to put a human face onto the problem. If you get the opportunity to influence a key decision maker; Say it quickly and be concise (this person does have a lot of time) Be prepared (note who you want to run into and be strategic about it) Be gracious and professional Consider yourself a resource for information-You are the experts at what you do! This rapporteur’s advice to youth attending the conference (since these situations/opportunities can sometimes sneak up on you): if you find you can not think of what to say or how to say it; invite the person of importance to come to the Toronto Youth Force Commitments desk in the youth pavilion to learn more about the work being done on behalf of youth globally. You never know, it may break the ice and give you the time you need to collect your thoughts and still hold that person’s attention. Good Luck ☺ Youth-Adult Partnerships Colleen Patterson, Chief Youth Rapporteur Presenters: Maxwell Marx, FH; Dikitso Letshwiti, YOHO; Maryanne Pribila, FHI Young people have something significant to offer in responding to HIV/AIDS Globally. Youth and adults need to recognize there can be a greater impact on a project if youth are encouraged to become meaningfully involved. These are some of the pro-active messages youth ambassadors received today at the Toronto Youth Force Pre-Conference. In the Youth-Adult Partnerships training session youth explored a spectrum of attitudes they could potentially encounter when initiating the process to work in partnership with adults. Until recently Adults have been the leaders and decision makers in regards to HIV/AIDS and related issues. The Toronto Youth Force acknowledges all of the hard work, dedication and accomplishments adults have made on their behalf. This year’s conference theme is Time to Deliver. After many years of advocating for youth voice there will be over 1000 youth delegates at the AIDS 2006 Conference in Toronto, Canada August 13-18, 2006. What does this mean to youth? How do they envision Youth-Adult Partnerships? These were the tough questions being asked to Ambassadors from around the world today. To help explore these questions youth were given the task of discussing ways to effectively engage adult partners. These are some of their responses. “There are many knowledgeable adults willing to help us, we should remember they are valuable resources”, stated one youth ambassador. “We should be organized, we should know what we are asking for and be as specific as possible when we do engage them”, said another. “Mutual respect is a key component; we need to have respect for ourselves and respect for the other person’s ideas. Even if we don’t agree with them, we should try to find some common ground.” Everyone worked really hard to put forward useful ideas. There was a wealth of information being shared in a very short amount of time. The presenters acknowledged this was only a portion of a two day workshop. This rapporteur’s only critique is; we could have used one more hour to strategize how to approach adults on the benefits of working with youth partners and preparing youth for any barriers they may face when initiating this process. In closing, great work on behalf of all who participated. Trade Issues: What’s Behind Access to Essential Medicines? Matt Kavanagh (SGAC), Constance Walyaro (Oxfam International) Report by Suzanne Fournier At least 6.5 million people are in immediate need of ARVs today yet only 1.3 million are receiving them. In Thursday’s session, youth deciphered the language of the WTO’s TRIPS Agreement and discussed the impact this global treaty has on access to affordable ARVs. Under TRIPS, new pharmaceuticals are entitled to 20 years of patent protection. Until the patent on a drug expires, countries cannot legally purchase or produce generic versions of these drugs, which are far more affordable than their patented counterparts. Despite safeguards designed to limit the impact of TRIPS on public health, countries risk legal action or trade sanctions if they purchase generic versions of drugs still under patent protection. Thus countries with a high prevalence of HIV are faced with a perilous dilemma, pay high prices for ARVs and risk bankrupting the health system, or defy trade partners and suffer the economic fallout. The highlight of the session was the participation of youth who stood up individually in a crowd of over 100 and stated whether ARVs were available in their country and what barriers to accessing ARVs HIV positive people in their country face. A youth from Kenya shared that there is some access to 1st line ARVs , however since most advocacy has focused on 1st line drugs, there is no access to 2nd line ARVs which will be required in greater numbers as resistance develops in the coming years. A youth from Trinidad and Tobego stated that despite the provision of free ARVs, access remains limited because information about the government program is not widespread and people are afraid to seek treatment due to fear of discrimination and stigma. Building on the Conference theme “Time to Deliver”, youth discussed strategies to bring affordable ARVs to reality by challenging ARV patent holders to allow generic production. Recently, SGAC campaigning of the pharmaceutical company GILEAD has resulted in their release of multiple patents to allow the sale of generic drugs to 97 countries. Trade Issues: What’s Behind Access to Essential Medicine? Kathleen Kenny, Assistant Youth Rapporteur The session navigated participants through complex implications of life-threatening trade policies on access to essential medicines, demanding close examination of who has access to AIDS treatments, who does not, and why. The interactive session began with participants from Canada, Kenya, Botswana, Malawi, Trinidad/Tobago, Brazil, Zambia, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Egypt describing the issues of drug access most relevant to their countries. Each briefly shared their own countries difficulties in achieving or maintaining universal access to antiretroviral (ART) drugs, echoing the urgent need to address drug access and the underlying trade rules governing drug manufacturing and distribution. Presenters spoke to statistics stating 6.5 million people in the world are in need of treatment to keep them alive, and only 1.3 million of those in need are currently receiving treatments. This was argued to be largely due to the detrimental actions of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and related trade policies of industrialized countries (which prioritize profits and liberalized economies over the lives of millions of people in developing countries). Participants were challenged to understand the trade legislations and political learnings that obstruct access to medicines. Specifically, the Trade Related Aspects of International Patents and Services (TRIPS), which is sanctioned by the WTO to protect pharmaceutical companies’ right to maintain exclusive rights over their drug manufacturing for a 20 year period. In developing countries currently manufacturing and/or distributing generic drugs, the legislated implementation of TRIPS by 2016 will effectively threaten access to medicines and the public health of billions of people. Voicing grounded awareness of how world trade rules can destroy or save communities battered by AIDS, young people need to act against death-promoting trade policies by gaining knowledge of how trade can work in favour of peoples instead of corporations. Matt Kavanagh stated, “the WTO was not handed down from God”, and hence can be met with opposition through thoughtful use of the media, civil organizing and education. Voicing opposition is especially important in rich countries, such as the U.S., where governments are key players in international trade decision-making. Acknowledging the world’s failure to have 3 million people on ARVs by 2005 and the recent G8 pledge to have 10 million people on ARVs by 2010, this session highlighted the imperative need to consider trade issues as central to either enabling or disabling the achievement of this target. From “Mumbo Jumbo” to Engagement: Building Youth’s Literacy in Research Methods By Kathleen Kenny, Assistant Youth Rapporteur The session provided an overview of methods used in HIV/AIDS research with the aim of equipping youth delegates with tools to interpret, understand and critically appraise research findings presented at AIDS 2006. Youth literacy in research methods is a key element to meaningful youth participation at AIDS 2006, enabling youth to understand and critically appraise the HIV/AIDS related research that will be presented. The urgency of HIV/AIDS requires the dissemination of actionable research results that can affect positive change and reverse the course of the epidemic. The presenter simplified a number of research complexities, providing a brief overview of different research purposes, designs, and significance tests. Research bias and ethics were key critical issues missing from the session’s overview discussion and more emphasis on these and related controversies would have further enhanced participants’ critical thinking in appraising research. With time constraints preventing in depth discussion of many concepts, it would have proved helpful to provide participants with a take-home list of critical questions to consider asking at future presentations of research findings. Pre-Conference Outreach and Prevention among Marginalized Groups. By Kathleen Kenny, Assistant Youth The session examined the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on marginalized groups such as injection drug users (IDUs) and commercial sex workers, who are disproportionately affected by the disease, and often engage in multiple high-risk behaviours necessitating inter-sectoral interventions. Adopting the compelling slogan orginally coined by the disability rights movement, “Nothing about us, without us!”, one of the session’s presenters emphasized the responsibility of youth delegates in speaking on behalf of the millions of at-risk street involved youth who are not present at the conference and who’s vulnerability to HIV infection must be urgently addressed. Recognizing that one person can often encompass three high-risk behaviour groups, participants were called to endorse and develop interventions targeting multiple risk behaviours through unsilo-ed multisectoral approaches. A presenter working with IDUs in the Ukraine underlined that prevention can only work when IDUs are also provided with treatment, care and support. A presenter from Russia spoke to the need to address the criminalization of certain behaviours, as well as to support consistent harm reduction services and peer education initiatives. Proliferating from all session presentations, was the debilitating impact of “double stigma” faced by marginalized groups that results from criminalization of behaviour(s), compounded further by mainstream society’s accusation that these groups are spreading HIV. To rise up against such societal forces, education through media and other innovations must be enacted through visible leadership of youth and other marginalized groups. Why Gender Matters in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS? By Kathleen Kenny, Assistant Youth The session emphasized gender discrimination as the underlying power imbalance driving the AIDS epidemic, highlighting the need for gender-based programming focused on empowering both men and women against HIV/AIDS. The interactive session was composed of three small discussion groups that took up topics around lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered/queer (LGBTQ) issues, young women’s vulnerability to HIV infection, and gender-based violence. Discussions aimed to demystify correlates of gender and HIV/AIDS, speaking to the need to address the underlying power imbalances that perpetrate coercion, violence and human rights violations against men, women and transgendered people. Key challenges exposed by participants brought to light the difficulties faced by adolescent women forced to marry older men in order to alleviate poverty constraints on their families. Among these at-risk young women, HIV infection can occur as a result of increased genital track susceptibility to HIV, powerlessness in negotiating sex and condom use, and lack of education. Participants also spoke about the risk of infection faced by widows, forced to “cleanse” themselves of their late husband’s ghost by having sexual intercourse with a married man brought to them by the deceased’s family. Recognizing the tradition of orienting gender-based programs towards girls and women, the session called for a broader scope of action to include programming specifically aimed at men. Discussion further suggested examining root causes of gender-based violence and the sociopolitical forces driving violence against women. While there was dissonance among participants on whether male perpetrators of violence should be considered themselves as victims, actionable messages pointed to the need to re-shape gender matters in a new frame of thinking that includes HIV/AIDS and social welfare programming specific to men and to women, by acknowledging they must be equal partners in delivering positive change. Voluntary Counselling and Testing Dr. Joel Rakwar, FHI By Suzanne Fournier, Youth Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) holds the key to the HIV epidemic. Dr. Joel Rakwar of FHI opened with this strong statement about the power and potential of VCT as a method of HIV prevention. What followed was a comprehensive session on youth-specific VCT programs, and how physiological differences between the sexes render women and young girls more susceptible to contracting HIV. For VCT to be an effective tool of HIV prevention among youth, programmes must be designed with their unique vulnerabilities in mind. This translates to providing an accessible environment where VCT can occur privately and discreetly, and navigating the laws of consent and confidentiality for minors. Counsellors themselves need training to understand the needs and language of young people, and must overcome their personal opinions and judgements regarding adolescent sex to effectively counsel youth. Kenya is home to five youth-specific VCT sites, however in the absence of any political and financial backing for these programs, Dr. Rakwar does not anticipate any more in the near future. One of many bold statements to stem from the session was that HIV transmission would be reduced by over 50% if women did not have sex until they were 20 years of age. Women are four times more likely to become infected with HIV through heterosexual contact than their male counterparts due to physiological differences between their reproductive organs. This ratio is even higher for girls under the age of 19, because the female reproductive tract has yet to mature and provides only a thin barrier to the virus. As a final consideration, Dr Rakwar advocated for mandatory testing, a controversial strategy for HIV prevention. His rationale: only by stopping the transmission of the virus from the infected to the uninfected can we ensure that those who are negative remain negative. Stigma and Discrimination By Colleen Patterson, Chief Youth Facilitators; Henry Luyombya, Committee for Accessible AIDS Treatment and Rachel Ong, Asia-Pacific Network of Positive People Living with HIV/AIDS & Positive Art Workshop Imagine yourself walking to the nearest anonymous test site. It is a clear sunny day. You go to the counter, give the person at the desk money and get a form to fill out. Maybe you shared a needle, maybe you had unprotected sex, maybe you are from a vulnerable group, and/or maybe your experience was beyond your control. You begin to fill out the form. Some of the questions you answer honestly and others you don’t. You give the form back, take a number and wait for your turn. Think of all the questions running through your head. What are you going to do if you are positive? What will your parents think? Can you get support? Will you be accepted? You hear your number being called, you walk into the room and a counselor runs you through the questions on the form. Then you get tested and wait. Rapid testing is available in some areas. Your test could take 20 minutes or 2 weeks. While you wait you ask yourself questions. Why did I not protect myself? Why did I not protect the other person? Why don’t I take better care of myself? This is the scenario facilitator Rachel Ong asked participants to work with. Youth were given a piece of paper and asked to keep the results to themselves and then think about how they feel. Some youth decided they did not want their results and did not take a piece of paper because this was an option they were given. Facilitators; Henry Luombya and Rachel Ong then facilitated group discussion on the how participants were feeling about their results and the stigma and discrimination issues that were arising for participants. Youth worked with tools to learn what defines vulnerability and what are vulnerable groups? How does vulnerability play a role in Stigma and Discrimination? What are the mechanical tools needed in countries to deal with Stigma and Discrimination? What is needed to facilitate (or how do we facilitate) the active involvement of youth more effectively in the recommendations they are making? The youth agreed the one thing they needed most was a basic understanding of HIV/AIDS education, more information on testing and a skilled facilitator to answer their questions. Over 65 youth of the 70 who were present said they could use this training before they begin the main conference and/or go home to their communities.