agements pris vis à vis des malades, des séropositifs et de ceux qui sont encore sains.

Tenons nos promesses!!!

François

International AIDS Conference on 3rd-8th/August-2008.

I noticed that I was missing the youth pre-conference during the main conference,and the youth pavillion served the purpose of many young people as Adults visiting the place,it was an overwhelming conference,with some and none crosscutting issues at all and thanks to the youth pavillion and the youth daily orientation...wow,they were too early though!!The updates were lifesaving if you ask me.

Bye bye to Toronto with the tiresome North and South building levels..-which made me not to attend some sessions and I was not alone...that is for sure,but the few skills I earned I believe were rich and are already in my wayforward list to start the implementation...Time to Deliver is not a slogan.....was it to you?< br />
we are all not perfect.....lets give credit where it deserved and open more doors for youth.

Miss you all.....

From Jacky Kowa
Kenya-Nairobi

e
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PS- if you want a t-shirt or posters, check back on the site in a week or so to find out how to order them!

Joya Banerjee- Program Coordinator of the Global Youth Coalition on
HIV/AIDS and Co-Chair of the Advocacy TaskForce of the Toronto
YouthForce

s ; le meilleur c'est la solidarité et notre capacité à réagir face à une épidemie aussi désastreuse.

Il reconnait les avancées de la médecine moderne ces dernières années et invite les acteurs à redoubler d'efforts pour aller plus loin dans les recherches.

MERCI CHER PRESIDENT

s, the closing ceremonies, and hurried good-byes,. AIDS 2006 has come to an end. “Overwhelming” would be the key descriptive word for the week. The walls of the Youth Pavilion are almost bare. A few lone pictures remain, waiting for their owners to come and claim them. The chairs have been stacked and the usual crowds have dwindled.

Next week, delegates will be back at work in their home countries. Back to the routine of daily living, back to the realities of families, organizations, and everything else that they had left. While a week usually does not feel like a long time, the past five days have been so packed full of events and information, that a month could have passed by and no one would have noticed.

No matter what people’s expectation s were, every one of the 25,000 delegates who attended this conference will be bringing something back with them. Some will bring back new ideas and creative energy for their programs. Others will bring back new information and resources. But all of us will bring back new contacts from our time in Toronto – new friends made with the hope of developing new partnerships.

everal times before and am never less than moved deep inside by the strength and resilience of this woman. Beatrice represents the people that the moralistic leaders of the world continue to neglect: she was a monogamous, faithful married woman who practiced the ABC model…and still contracted HIV. Her closing of the panel brought a long standing ovation, and when challenged by an American man during the Question and Answer session over the statistical evidence behind her argument, successfully threw the questions back upon him, providing her own statistics and winning another booming round of applause.

2) Speaking to Frika Chiu Iskander throughout the conference: Frika, a beautiful young Indonesian positive woman who won the thousands-strong crowd over during the opening ceremony as the youth speaker (only to have media focus—of course—on Bill and Melinda Gates), is a real pocket dynamo of an activist. It’s also lovely to meet fellow South-east Asian/Australasian people involved in the AIDS fight.

3) Talking to Watema and Acana from Uganda about the SPIT Youth Movement: Since an early ago, growing up on the gravel-tops of Western Australia, I have always loved street basketball, and I have grown to love the universal language that positive, conscious hip hop provides for my generation. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to learn that these two entrepreneurial streetballers and rhyme-spitters from Kampala, Uganda are creating an HIV movement that combines these two art forms with prevention methods and youth communication. They even performed a freestyle for me upon my request.

4) The Treatment Action Campaign’s staged protest at a major press conference: There are fewer more beautiful stories in the AIDS movement then that of Zackie Achmat and the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa, which successfully forced its government—through raw grit, heart, and fury at its government’s neglect—to scale up access to ARVs. I often see South Africa as the soul of the activist movement, and even as cases begin to escalate in India and other Asian population centers, for me, South Africa remains the moral compass of the movement. Nobody more so than Zackie Achmat, a positive Indian-South African doctor who refused life-saving medication until all South Africans had access to the drugs, represents this movement. Combine this with the zest for life—singing and dancing flow out of the actions of TAC like momentous Neruda-evoking love poems, and you have an inspirational movement. In particular, Sipho Mthati, a young, full-voiced woman who has captured many peoples’ hearts, articulates the needs of positive people with an eloquence, intelligence, and beauty that few can muster. It makes me choke up simply thinking about what she represents to people back in her home country. But her command over the press conference yesterday, where she astounded journalists and others with her understanding and power over all of the issues raised, was at times breathtaking and never more than affirming of the will and intelligence of the everyday human being: galvanized and mobilized towards a noble go al.

5) The Global Village in general: on the whole, this room was just the most wonderful, chaotic collision of humanity I’ve ever seen assembled in one place. Typing away in the media center, one was constantly overhearing song, music, drumming, and other aural inspirers flowing out of the Village. It is as if the whole of Grand Central Station in New York City was locked together, shaken up and down, and all those inside happened to be committed to ending the AIDS epidemic in a hundred different ways and by supporting every conceivable group. It was a welcome change from the dry, cerebral nature of many of the sessions, and breathed a huge gust of life into proceedings.

6) Paul Farmer’s Photographs: One of the true ‘rock stars’ of the AIDS fight, Dr. Farmer used to fly from his post at the medical faculty in Harvard to Haiti, illegally carrying over AIDS drugs in his suitcase for the many who need them in this suffering Caribbean nation. He’s also a brilliant writer and a man whose presence encourages all of us to put our actions where our words are. He showed several pictures of people at clinics from his health facilities in Haiti and Rwanda that I found particularly affecting, as I’m sure hundreds of others did during the session.

7) The ‘Come As You Are’ Sex Workshop: Come As You Are is a local sex store in Toronto. Their candid, this-is-how-it-works, sex workshop in the Global Village was at times humorous, eye-opening, and entirely maturely-led. For many of the participants who come from societies in which sex remains a largely taboo subject, I think it really broke new ground for them. Plus, I got a free pocket vibrator, and those are always handy to have around.

8) Seeing and laughing with friends from around the world once again: Working on HIV in Washington D.C. can sometimes be an isolating experience. It’s necessary for the soul and worldview-affirming to meet and reunite with brilliant AIDS activists from Egypt, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Botswana, Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Guatemala and so on. I am constantly reminded of the universality of human suffering, of human feeling, and human spirit, as we work together to finally send this terrible pestilence into the annals of our history as rapidly as possible.

9) Asking Peter Piot to wear a giant condom su it: Ever one to throw on the occasional giant phallic outfit, I thought it would be only suitable for us as youth reporters to ask him whether he would don such a suit to fight stigma, bouncing his way up to the microphone during the opening ceremony before the thousands of participants. He declined, in his endearing slightly socially awkward, over-educated Belgian doctor sort of way. The podcast is up on the site if anyone wants to catch it; we got a good laugh out of his response, and I’m sure he did too.

10) The Empancipation of Sovhik: I first bumped into this little Indian fashion designer on the night that we both got in. He was very lost, very tired, and told me that Toronto was the first time he’d stepped out of Calcutta. I helped him back to the dorm, and then h ad the chance to cover his fashion show, which had a jam-packed youth pavilion audience whooping and cheering. He then showcased the first Bengali music video to positively highlight gay male relationships. Afterwards, he was surrounded by a flock of eager journalists and enthusiastic viewers of his eye-catching work. I could tell that he was absolutely loving it. Sovhik’s rise from lost young man, fresh off of the plane, to rising designer and queer activist is in essence, the dream of the AIDS and social justice movement writ large. I know that he will return home a more empowered, more confident young man, and I believe and trust that his is only one in a sea of similarly life-affirming, positive stories coming out of this momentous gathering.

on of women and girls is especially important to the organization, which is faced with breaking down stereotypes that women are fit only for the home. However, as local coach Safari Kayisire said, “thanks to sports, the children learn tolerance,” and before long, girls are welcomed onto the playing field alongside boys.
Dr. Bruce Kidd of the University of Toronto, explained that the importance of including girls in sports is academically supported. Studies show that teenage women involved in high school sports are less likely to contract STDs, which is directly related to the fact that their participation gives them self-esteem and confidence that strengthens their capacity to negotiate their own sexuality.
Yet self-confidence is nothing without knowledge, an understand ing Right to Play uses in tailoring its games to specific situations. In one AIDS-related game, certain children play the HIV virus and try to catch others; however, as the children run after one another, coaches yell out different causes for getting caught, such as unprotected sex, thus teaching the children in a very unobtrusive way.
There is an ancient proverb that reads, “Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember, Involve me and I will understand.” By occupying children with fun activities that engage and educate simultaneously, Right to Play has crafted a brilliant program that harnesses the energy of children for positive means.
As the Olympic speedskater Joey Cheek said, “children everywhere play.” By playing sports, children are able to sociali ze, exercise, vent frustration, and learn important life skills. If only adults were willing to be so light-hearted as to play as children do, perhaps the world would be a better place.

reculer, ils sont nécessaires à notre maturité. Sans difficultés ni défis nous n'aurons rien à raconter ou à léguer aux générations futures.
Les jeunes à travers leur Pavillon et ses nombreuses activités viennent de démontrer leur inspiration, leur force et leurs capacités.
OUI Georgres Bernanos avait raison de dire que "c'est la force de la jeunesse qui maintient la température du monde à la normale, quand le monde a froid le monde craque".
Notre présence s'est fait remarquée et les dirigeants doivent prendre acte et nous donner plus de pouvoir et de parole.
Demain nous appartient et nous devons être associés à la résolution des grand problèmes mondiaux.

MAINTENONS LA FLAMME ALLUMEE

STAND UP

was easy for anyone to ask that question. The familiar enthusiastic response each time a stranger asks this question was automatic, but what followed was unexpected. Only, it should not have been.

She said, "So what you think will change" (because of the conference). This follow up never happened before, although I have thought of what I want to do when I return home, to Trinidad and Tobago. The obvious response, and the one I used was, "the progress will be seen after each delegate and media return to their respective countries (with the information)". I went on to explain, not sure if her composed expression meant she thought the conference was a waste of time. We said goodbye and that was the end of the conversation that has disturbed me since.

Follow me f or a moment to analyze the HIV/AIDS problem in one short paragraph. HIV/AIDS turned up on the global health radar twenty-five years ago. Today a record 40 million is estimated to be living with the disease. In addition, half of new infections are among young people between 15 and 24. The epidemic has created its own global citizenship and resides in every region of the world. So we are all either infected or affected (or both) by the changes HIV/AIDS has caused. Still, with all the information the problem of not enough political will, gender, stigma, discrimination and a lack of access to information, education and services remain as barriers. But maybe the biggest barrier to breaking down this disease is INACTION!

You can change this; young people know the issues, as 24 yea r old Frika Iskandar puts it. She tested positive for HIV when she was eighteen. She is committed to preventing others from contracting HIV. At the same time speaking out in support of those who are living with HIV. The message she was sending: Do something about what’s happing!

Remember, Youth/adult partnerships have proven to work, according to Kerrel from Jamaica. She started a HIV/AIDS care service that has partnered with adults from the beginning. Meet with the government and political figures to get the facts and their help. If young people and the general public feel untouched by the HI/AIDS epidemic get the statistics and show them, is the advice from Melinda, a youth AIDS activist. There are ideas that you can share with online networks. For a start locate others in your area, groups and people interested in the same thing or try youthaidscoalition.org. Whatever you decide, do something!

ence level. All this has opened doors of opportunity and fosters greater networking possibilities. With a greater resolve we will go home to impact our society in this global fight against time, against stigma and discrimination, against HIV/AIDS a pandemic that has hit the Caribbean region with the force of a million watts!
We are determine to continue the fight because in the end we are all vulnerable. We also see it fit to maintain not only dialogue but action, afterall it's time to deliver!
One Love!

Matilde Maddaleno - Regional Advisor Adolescent Health, WHO
Mariam Claeson - Coordinator of South Asia, World Bank


To check out the commitments themselves, take a look over here!

anoparticles with three different capping agents: foamy carbon, poly (PVP), and bovine serum albumin (BSA)."Not using a capping agent could result in the synthesis of big crystals instead of nanocrystals," explained Yacaman.

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed the silver nanoparticles in the foamy carbon matrix were joined together, but an ultrasonic bath in deionized water released a significant number of nanoparticles. These nanoparticles were of size 16.19 (+-8.69)nm and had the greatest variety of shapes, such as icosahedral, decahedral, and elongated.

"Because of the synthesis procedure, the foamy carbon-coated naoparticles are more likely to have broad shape distribution," said Yacaman. Scientists used the electron beam to release the remainder of the nanoparticles from the joined bundle.

For the PVP-coated silver nanoparticles, scientists used glycerine as a dissolving agent. These particles were of size 6.53 (+-2.41). In the third preparation, scientists used serum albumin, the most common protein in blood plasma. The sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen chemicals in BSA stabilized the nanoparticles, which were in the range of 3.12 (+-2.00) nm.

Scientists studied the absorption spectra of the different preparations to pinpoint their shapes. "Spherical nanoparticles absorbed in the blue region of the spectrum, for example," Yacaman said.

Also, the UV-Visible spectra graphs helped the group determine nanoparticle sizes. "The surface plasmon resonance peak wavelength increased with size," expl ained Yacaman.

Scientists tested, in vitro, each of three silver nanoparticle-preparations in HIV-1 cells. Yacaman and his colleagues incubated the samples at 37 C. After three hours and 24 hours, respectively, 0% of the cells were living.

The results showed that a silver nanoparticle concentration greater than 25 ug/mL worked more effectively at inhibiting HIV-1 cells. Plus, the foamy carbon was a slightly-better capping agent because of its free surface area. Size also played a role since none of the attached nanoparticles were greater than 10nm.

Scientists think the nanoparticles bonded through the gp120 glycoprotein knobs on HIV-1, using the sulfur residues on the knobs. The spacing between the knobs of ~22nm matched the center-to-center nan oparticle spacing.

Although this study shows silver nanoparticles may treat HIV-1, scientists need to research this relationship further. "We lack information regarding the long-term effects of metal nanoparticles," cautioned Yacaman. Scientists are forming a preventive cream for HIV-1, which they will test on humans.

Scientists are also studying other uses for silver nanoparticles. "We're testing against other viruses and the 'super bug (Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus).' Our preliminary results indicate that silver nanoparticles can effectively attack other micro-organisms," Yacaman said.

By Syeda Z. Hamdani; Copyright 2005 PhysOrg.com

br /> Cette medecine n'a-t-elle pas fait ces preuves en terre africaine avant l'arrivee de nos amis les adpetes de Descartes?

Personne ne doit etre mis de cote!!

BRAVO CHERS AMIS ET CONTINUEZ LA LUTTE

br /> Cette medecine n'a-t-elle pas fait ces preuves en terre africaine avant l'arrivee de nos amis les adpetes de Descartes?

Personne ne doit etre mis de cote!!

BRAVO CHERS AMIS ET CONTINUEZ LA LUTTE

olls royce projects,” or in other words, optional. Studies have shown that the effectiveness of ARV treatment is critically enhanced by proper nutrition and among the 14 million people who need interventions in the next two years, some 6 million require food intervention.
Stephen Lewis, in response to the folks who refuse to recognize the importance of proper nutrition, suggested that perhaps abstinence programs should redirect money to nutrition. One journalist interjected that the South African Minister of Health greatly promotes and supports the idea of proper nutrition; however, Lewis made it clear that his tactics of suggesting certain foods such as beet root, garlic, and sweet potato as replacements for ARVs are completely unacceptable.
As if all of this wasn’t co nvincing enough, Dr. Farmer called attention to Joseph, a young man from Haiti who stood as living proof of the effectiveness of proper nutrition in combination with ARVs. Using before and after photos over the span of six months to prove to the audience that nutritious food is essential, we saw Joseph’s transformation from emaciated to healthy. From knocking on death’s door to embracing his life ahead, there was no clearer illustration of the power of food than Joseph, who sat among us.
I’m enthralled by the concept of holistic health, which extends to the idea of spiritual, emotional, as well as physical nourishment. By being able to provide food along with HIV/AIDS treatment regimens, the World Food Programme is succeeding in sending a message that the whole person is va lued; their life is not just worth hanging on to, but enhancing. With proper nutrition in combination with ARV treatment, people living with HIV/AIDS can make a positive contribution to their societies, engage with their families, and create the life that they want for themselves.
For further information about the World Food Programme’s initiatives, check out www.wfp.org.

ey will commit and by when they will achieve the commitment. And we'll be following up with them.

You can read some of the commitments here on our site. This week Mark Wainberg (Conference Co-Chair), Mary Robinson the former head of the High Commission on Human Rights, Tim Thomas the ED of MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates, the Crown Princess of Norway, and others made commitments. Others were from teachers committing to creating an awareness and advocacy group to talk to elemtary school kids about gender discrimination and homophobia. The Coordinator of the Ministry of Health in Guyana committed to training 300 peer educators.

If you are here and see a decision-maker, please bring her/him to the commitments desk and speak to him/her about w hy youth involvement makes a difference.

If you are not, you can still talk to decision-makers in your country about what we are doing and get them to make a time-bound commitment to youth.

Joya Banerjee- Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Toronto YouthForce

s, recepciones, presentaciones, fiestas y cokteles que las financiadoras, los laboratorios y las grandes organizaciones
internacionales ofrecen al termino de las jornadas.

Los estands en la Conferencia son enormes, los latinos estamos presentes a traves del Grupo Caribeño
trabajando en VIH, Brasil,LACCASO y Mexico. Han habido varias presentaciones en las sesiones
pero sin duda hay mas carteles de nuestra region que sesiones orales desgraciadamente.
Principalmente Brasil ha tenido algunas importantes aportaciones.

Los mexicanos hemos estado bastante ocupados con las sesiones buscando las oportunidades y las experiencias para la siguiente conferencia porque ahora si, nos toca a los latinos!

he risk of contracting HIV. A great challenge that faces Inuit communities lies in the fact that community health centres are not places where someone can go to for anonymous testing, since they are staffed by family and friends. The shortage of resource workers means that doctors and nurses have a high burnout rate, leaving much to be desired from the health system.
However gloomy that all may sound, there is great promise for the future. Currently the Nunavut government is working on a sexual health strategy, and will hopefully be able to provide culturally-specific programming for the proud Inuit people and their communities.

’s control. No one chooses their skin colour, their gender, or to be HIV-positive. No one deserves to be criticized or victimized because of these things.
One very positive initiative that has come of the battle against stigma is visible at the conference this week: a t-shirt that reads “HIV POSITIVE” is available to all, regardless of their status. The beauty of the message on the clothing also lies in the double entendre, that whether the person is HIV positive or positive about HIV, they should not have to be afraid to be loud and proud.

G), which assists the body in recognizing self-cells and identifying foreign invaders, such as HIV, allowing the body to reject it’s entry and thereby preventing new infections.

The sex workers he has studied have been involved in high-risk sex trade work for roughly 20 years, however, many have remained negative. He found that those who had not contracted the virus had particular variants of HLAG, while those who were positive had more susceptible variants.

The theory is that by interrupting HLAG in the mucosal tract, through a vaginal applicant similar to a microbicide, the spread of HIV can be prevented, however he qualified that at this point HLAG research is still in its preliminary phases.

Sarah Switzer, a 23-year-old native of Toronto, discussed her research into discourses of self-care and responsibility. She recruited 50 students from her university and had them gather mass media material, which they then critiqued, reflected upon, and used to identify existing gaps in HIV theory. She showed the audience a book of compiled ‘secret messages’ the students had provided her.

“The book can be used as a prevention tool in itself,” she explained, but also serves to identify existing gaps in HIV/AIDS scholarship. She has been involved in the Otesha program, teaching “adbusting” to peers—assisting them in understanding mass media messages in terms of self-identity and behavior, and which runs several social justice and environmentalism campaigns.

Sophie Gbesso, a young woman from Ben in, conducted a sexual and reproductive health baseline survey in her home community. Through community meetings, focus groups, and hundreds of individual interviews, she identified issues of transactional sex for young girls, intersecting issues involving poverty and marriage, as well as a need for faster program implementation.

Shocked at the results of her study, Sophie has taken it upon herself to help inform her peers within her community about the virus.

Maulik Baxi, a 23-year-old physician from India who moderated the event, asked the participants about the difficulties in gathering peer-review-friendly quantitative data in any HIV study, an issue to which they all acknowledged presents a common issue in numerous qualitative-based contexts.

When asked about their future plans, the young researchers expressed a strong commitment to furthering their education and engaging in AIDS activism. It’s wonderful to see the holistic involvement of my generation in the response to the epidemic, and projects a hopefully narrowing gap between the scholar and the studied.

Global AIDS Campaign (SGAC), which provided additional support to TAC during the action. Moving from a protest outside the convention center against U.S. Free Trade Agreements, they had regrouped inside the building and coordinated with their South African colleagues via cell phone, awaiting permission to join the demonstration. A few minutes later, a member of TAC arrived to give them the green light.

“They’re now accepting white people,” Matt Kavanagh, Harvard graduate and executive director of the organization, informed his colleagues, his tone a mixing both subtle humor and a sort of knowing liberal consciousness. Symbolic and literal representation of communities they view as marginalized or under-represented is an ever-present, almost obsessive concern for the A IDS activist community. TAC, which is largely comprised of HIV-positive black South Africans, but whose membership includes other ethnic groups, had previously expressed a desire to keep the demonstration as ‘black’ as possible. Over 60 percent of all people living with HIV are in Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Africa has more than any other individual nation: 5.5 million, of whom the vast majority of those diagnosed are black.

Upon receiving the green light, the SGAC group discretely slid into the media center, where they joined TAC members in one of the unused interview rooms for a quick briefing on their message and action plan. Then, they walked into the press conference with signs concealed, before taking over and reframing the entire event in efficient, if dramatic fashion.

The whole process took about 15 minutes.

It was not the first time they had co-opted an event in such fashion. Rather, it has become a practically expected part of any large-scale AIDS event for activists to take main stage through direct action tactics. Since the inception of organizations such as Act UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) in New York and Paris, whose “Silence Equals Death” slogan in the 1980s remains one of the most successful advocacy campaigns in recent history, through to today’s transnational advocacy movements, AIDS activists have played a historic, formative role in shaping the AIDS debate, battling for media representation and enlarging the circle of inclusion.

This conference is a case study of this consi stent evolution. Originally starting as an academic and research-centered conference for the scientific and medical communities, it has since grown to become an extraordinarily broad gathering of people involved in HIV from every country and sector of society, including community organizers, peer educators, sex workers, music celebrities, and, of course, activists. It now even boasts its own global village, a colorful, lively hub of activity, where music and street theatre takes place besides sex workshops and fashion shows.

AIDS is commonly described as the petri dish of social issues. It serves to magnify and bring to light a broad spectrum of contemporary social ills, including race, class, sexuality, increasing corporate power, democracy, trade liberalization, and U.S. hegemony. In similar fashion, the AIDS activist movement, with its own complex dynamics and varied worldviews, effectively captures the state and direction of other global social movements, serving indirectly as its own petri dish.

Helen Gayle, whose glances of consternation towards TAC delegates before the ‘take-over’ suggested that this was not her first event at which activists had taken control, attempted to keep the conference as close to the original agenda as possible. However, following the conference’s unplanned transformation, she struggled to keep discussion on topic, and the majority of questions from the media were addressed to, or at least addressed by Ms. Mthathi, whose articulacy and well-informed response remained constant.

The general t heme of Ms. Mthathi and her organization was the continued marginalization and lack of participation of those most affected by the virus: poorer people of color from developing countries. However, she touched on a variety of other issues, including what she viewed as her own government’s misinformation campaigns, difficulty in procuring second line treatment, and pharmaceutical lobby interests in the United States’ HIV/AIDS foreign policy.

Several times during the questioning process, one of the TAC’s leaders, who is a white man, condemned the moderator and several journalists for addressing their questions to Dr. Fauci, an American doctor.

“This is exactly the problem we’re talking about,” he shouted angrily. “Why don’t you ask Sipho to answe r the question? Are only people who come from [English-speaking countries] allowed to answer?”

Meanwhile, media ravenously snapped up footage and photographs of the standing protesters, who continued to chant and cheer following particularly prescient points. More media gathered outside the pressroom, shooting their pictures with arms outstretched upwards, unable to squeeze into the now crowded entrance.

I noticed Frika Chiu, the young positive Indonesian woman who had spoken so eloquently at the Opening Ceremony, holding a sign towards the back which read “Face Reality About HIV/AIDS – People Are Dying,” another attack on the recent ‘celebrity circus’ nature of this year’s conference. This is, some might argue, an inevitable consequence of the more inclusive, populist direction that activists such as Frika herself have championed for the IAC. With increased media exposure comes increased commercial interest, in addition to a watering down, or perhaps more accurately, a “prettying up” of the event for lay audiences.

But then swiveling the video camera around the room, I couldn’t help but realize that this was a perfect “Petri dish” moment. Elevated at the front, Helen Gayle, an African-American woman with seasoned roots in the establishment and Dr. Fauci, from the upper crust of medical circles and representative of the white, educated, male elite in the North. Then, to his left, Ms. Mthathi and her colleague, two young 'community-level' women, aggressively representing the sentiments of the majority of p eople infected or affected by the virus. Finally, next to them, a Ugandan female minister, representing the oft-criticized African elite.

Before them in the audience lay more fragmented segments of international society. In one pocket stood the TAC protesters: angry, emotive, and black. Seated or kneeling around them, the media: mostly white yet certainly more ethnically diverse, many of whom are busy in their own career-driven lives--capturing footage on expensive cameras, emailing it back to their bureaus, then flying off to cover another story next week. At the back of the room, protesters from outside South Africa: some of them Northern, others from the South, all very vigorous in righteously supporting TAC, whom they often refer to as their “brothers and sisters,” a glimpse into their model of global citizenship and social equity.

In this heavily discussed globalizing world are mixed notions of choice, freedom and rights. As an activist example: the political and business leaders of the world have the choice to take decisive action in overcoming the epidemic; millions of people living with HIV without access to generic drugs do not have the choice to save their own lives. For them, many governments and pharmaceutical executives are denying the poor and disempowered the human right to life.

An opposing example: Pharmaceutical companies should have the freedom to patent and protect their intellectual property in a competitive global economy; the U.S. government has the freedom to encourage free trade agreements with poorer countries. For such individuals, activists do not understand the realities of macroeconomics or international trade, and their shouting and theatre provide more distraction than positive outcome.

Depending on where one stands, from a merely academic perspective, all of these arguments are relative, epistemological constructions of the same titanic debate, and a global, rapidly growing, middle-class population suggests that this is sure to continue.

What does not seem to be mixed is the notion of human worth. If human life is valuable, and indeed, the consensus in this AIDS debate concedes that it is, and if saving lives and overcoming the “black plague”—as one Ugandan youth described the virus--should come before profit or ideology or elements of faith, then why is it that 25 years into the epidemic, we’re not even at the point of curbing it, let alone close to eradicating it?

Depending on whom you talk to at this conference, the answer is sure to be different. And the answer will continue to change as new treatments are rolled out, and with new international trade agreements in flux. From what I’ve heard, it seems like we’re finally moving in the right direction. Positive statistical evidence from a recent UNAIDS report also suggests faint glimmers of improvement.

No matter the state of our efforts, however, at least one thing is assured: there will be angry, impassioned activists in whichever direction the AIDS response travels; demanding more minority participation, chastising anything short of uni versal access to drugs, steadfast in their belief that saving human life should come before all else. As the TAC members left the press conference today to go “tear down” the South African government’s booth, they sang together: it was a beautiful, mournful song which echoed out of the media center and into the main halls of the convention center.

The world’s response to AIDS is much better because of people such as Sipho Mthathi. Activists are just as necessary now as they were during the beginnings of the epidemic, so many years ago. And, let us hope, not too many years ahead. Enough life has been shed for my generation; I dare not to think what AIDS may bode for that of my children.

" and focus on minimizing jargon when talking about fighting the pandemic.

The representative from DFID, as usual, focused on harmonization and system strengthening as the way to maximize the impact that financing has at the country level.

The representative from the US government disagreed with Mr. Feachem's view, and stated that it was better to have different organizations working together, instead of one central institution. He said that it is "against human nature" to just have one central organization.

In conclusion, this was a very interesting meeting. I was happy to see these decision-makers talk about international financing to fight HIV/AIDS at the national level, but was disappointed that young people were not mentioned at all. For ex ample, I think young people might have some good ideas in creating delivery mechanisms that benefit non-formal education programs at the country-level, which could be a core part of country coordinating mechanisms (CCMs). Oh well... We still have a long way to go in advocating for young people!

uld be the Youth Pavilion. But, this is also where the YouthForce media team has their work station. Deadlines come and go, blogs are posted or forgotten about, articles are written and interviews are uploaded. All surrounded by the chaos that makes up the Pavilion. The media team also has access to the Media Room through the Main Conference. This space is more structured, formal, and everyone generally has the same focus, basically, a more productive environment overall.

But what fun would that be? If we are reporting for the YouthForce, the best place to be is right here, in the middle of it all. Even if that means needing to read through everything once or twice more because of the noise level, or being distracted by the belly dancers twelve feet away, or a group singing. There is no other place that would better to capture the energy of it all then right here.

hat much more vulnerable. There are also legal and cultural barriers to talking to youth about sex and sexuality.

I would like to challenge more groups working on LGBT issues to include more youth in their work. Although major challenges may make this difficult; involving more young people is critical to make real social changes on these issues. The queer youth movement can be very powerful, if it is provided a seat at the table.

Also, there is a huge lack of information on youth, g/l/b/t/q, HIV/AIDS, internationally. At Advocates for Youth (www.advocatesforyouth.org) we have a lot of information and support for these issues both within the United Sates and internationally; we have a g/l/b/t/q youth website www.youthresrouce.com with information and onl ine peer education. Our resources domestically are much more extensive and we would love to receive more information about g/l/b/t/q internationally. Does anyone have resources they would like to share that address these issues?

d the evolution of a high-school student targeting, volunteer-led program to include messaging within sports programs, including a soccer league specifically geared towards female student involvement. The education is not limited to HIV, instead including environmental and leadership training, with the expectation that “to whom much is given, much is expected.”

Katrina, a Namibian participant in the program, spoke of the personal impact the programming had on she and her peers.

“I know participants who have been involved in drugs and alcohol in the past, but who have stopped since joining the program,” she said.

Selecting a group of volunteers, one workshop leader had them play several of the games actually used in the field to teach key positive living lessons around the HIV theme, helping to reduce stigma and open lines of discussion.

During one game, the eight volunteers had to find a way to all stand on a single sheet of newspaper, an exercise designed to build open communication and teamwork. Another exercise had a group of volunteers form a hand-linked chain through which a ‘cat’ had to chase a ‘mouse,’ representing high-risk behavior or HIV’s pursuit of a young individual.

Kitso, a young man from Botswana, told the crowd about the positive impact the program had on his life. Before joining, he had gotten mixed up in a local gang in one of the poorest parts of the country, one involved in violent, criminal activity. Following membership in the soccer game program, he managed t o change ways.

“If it wasn’t for these soccer games, I would be in prison now,” he told the audience.

Following this, a presentation of the use of soccer stars and child games offered similar approaches and results. Combining social learning theory with the power of soccer stars in various African nations, the organizer has developed a full-scale, 4-day curriculum for an in-depth children’s workshop, embedding prevention messages in homework and youth-connected metaphor, among other tools.

“Kids teach kids what they think is important,” said the workshop leader.

m’engager pour un cause à défendre au nom de ces differents groupes, mais moi je ne m’identifie pas par rapport à la discrimination. Je veux donner mes efforts et mon temps à tout et je veux faire une différence pour les groupes qui souffrent sans raison. Parce que je ne peux pas changer mon histoire, j’essayerai d’étre sensible et respectueuse en travaillant pour l’àmelioration de la cause humaine.

Merci

search, he revealed that youth who define hip hop as dance or sex are more likely to have more sex in their lives. This doesn’t go without saying? If youth are associating their favourite music and culture with sex, isn’t it reasonable to draw the connection that sex is of interest and importance to them?
But hang on! Not all youth listen to hip hop and certainly the ones who listen to jazz and classic rock and heavy metal also are having sex. Sex is used today to sell just about everything, and no music is immune to this; even young classical artists are pushed in the direction of looking sexy in order to be popular and commercially successful.
Youth have a very strong association with their music – their playlists define them to their friends and what titles you k now often brings you in or easily excludes you from conversations and social circles. This means that certain genres of music become cool, while others wither and die on the fringe of teenage society. And to some, what is unknown is the coolest of all.
So does certain music mean more sex? From a purely a-scientific standpoint, I would say that turning on hip hop before going on a date is not going to mean a different end to the evening. But cultural socialization may cause certain youth that listen to a common set of artists to exhibit sexually similar behaviour.
Maybe one day the ones who listen to polka will be having all the sex.

ciation for the Advancement of Colored People, used the comparison of apartheid to the battle against HIV/AIDS. He believes that “the battle against ignorance is our biggest challenge,” since like racism, customs, superstitions, and prejudices are the social stigmas that will determine who will live and who will die.

As each adult leader rose to give their addresses to the audience, it became apparent that they are all proud youth allies, determined to listen and not afraid to make big promises. Joya Banerjee, 24-year-old co-founder of the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS, bluntly asked of the adult leaders to identify specific and concrete commitments they are making to youth and when they would expect to make good on their promises, wisely adding, “we will be fol lowing up on these with you.” The three remaining adults showed great integrity in bringing their rhetoric to a close and finally proposing solid steps for action. From Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, First Lady of Honduras, youth are ensured an open space for participation in the coalition of first ladies and women in politics. From Dr. Peter Piot, an internship in the UNAIDS secretariat will be created. Dr. Julio Frenk promises the number of youth present at the next International AIDS Conference will be doubled, as it has since the last conference in Bangkok.

Caitlin Padgett, a founding member of the Youth Network for Harm Reduction International, reinforced the necessity of diminishing the rhetoric used around youth and HIV/AIDS, thanking Dr. Piot for using youth-friendl y words such as ‘syringe’ and ‘condom.’ International documents are written in a language that is the result of compromise, and thus are “written in the language of no one,” Dr. Piot joked, which is why it is critical that “all AIDS programs pass the youth test”; they must be determined by and directed toward youth.

Her Excellency, Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, opened her speech by saying that “you, the youth, are the greatest hope for humanity,” but humanity is comprised of a great spectrum of diversity, for which the global fight against HIV/AIDS requires steady intergenerational partnerships and dialogues.

for being ignorant. Where billboards abound in cities, rural communities have limited access to information, especially in local dialects. “Ignorant youth?” Dolly jeered, “No. You are ignorant not to translate the message into my language.”

The pair from Botswana agreed that access to information and services would be a critical step toward reducing the rate of infection in the country. The small economy requires fortification to include youth, especially those heading up households. In order to provide education to infected, affected, and vulnerable youth, an organization called SAHA, the Society against HIV/AIDS was established in 1998 and continues to teach through entertainment.

In Burkina Faso, where nearly half the population lives on less than a dollar per day, the life expectancy of the general population is 45 and illiteracy is one of the biggest challenges facing youth groups working on AIDS education projects. In order to circumvent the issue of illiteracy, an organization called AIDS Go Away takes on AIDS education through music, creating a national competition in which children write songs about AIDS.

In Malawi, there are close to 1 million orphans; however the peer education and support of organizations such as Young Voices and Girls’ Alliance offer positive entertainment in order to spread the word about AIDS. Yet the statistics from Malawi are perhaps the most discouraging, with the average life expectancy at a lowly 37, down from 65 merely 7 years ago due to the rampant AIDS epidemic.

Canadians should feel lucky to have such a low rate of infection at merely 0.17% of the population; however, first nations communities still face the imbalance of being three times as likely as the average Canadian of becoming infected. Due to the power of the World University Service of Canada, young Canadians have put their efforts toward combating AIDS in parts of the world that are more greatly affected.

As one concerned audience member voiced his fear that North American charity will make youth and adults alike in developing countries reliant on handouts, he reinforced that “we have got to recognize our own power first.” In response to the general question, what do you want the world to know?, a young Canadian woman summed up the general sentiment of youth pre sent at the XVI International AIDS Conference this week: “Nothing should be done for us, without us.”

For more coverage of the Youth Working Together Across Borders Session, take a listen to the podcasts up on the youth website.

eds support from policy makers to see that there is a social change in society.
He quotes Jim Yong Kim, head of the WHO’s HIV/Aids program, said in reference to the G8’s pledge to pump more money into getting wide spread access to anti-retroviral drugs that this is more to do with social change rather than administering better pharmaceuticals. “Treatment is not rocket science,” he said “prevention is rocket science”.
Musoke said that the uniqueness of HIV is in its transmission. It is a virus that must pass from person to person through the exchange of significant quantities of bodily fluids, primarily sexual fluid or blood.
These fluids do not ordinarily transfer from person to person except through the undertaking of specific activities over which an indi vidual normally has control. The main methods of transmission amongst adults are via sexual intercourse or the sharing of needles that enter the blood stream of sequential individuals. The sharing of needles primarily occurs during the use of recreational drugs such as heroine.
“A safe assertion may be made that if a healthy adult avoids certain high risk activities, the probability of contracting HIV are miniscule. If two people of the opposite gender marry, and are faithful to each other for the rest of their lives, their risk of contracting HIV through sexual activity is negligible. HIV in children is usually transmitted during childbirth from an infected mother. There are various techniques that can be used to prevent this vertical spread. However, it is simple reality that i f adults do not have HIV, children could not get it either,” he said.
The UN has reported that rates of HIV throughout the world are reaching previously unprecedented levels, estimated to be 40 million people infected worldwide. There were over 4 million new cases in the last year, 700 000 of which were in children. Current boom areas are Pakistan and Indonesia, where the report said that transmission was out of control, although the

Another youth delegate speaking on condition of anonymity said that leading HIV activists were shying away from advising people to avoid those behaviours likely to lead to HIV infection.
“They prefer to try to find ways to perform the various risky behaviours that they want to practice, but with a modicum of protection,” he said.
“Practically speaking this means the promotion of condom use, and the provision of clean needles and syringes to drug addicts so that they do not need to share and of latest the decampaigning of abstinence,”
He said that while condoms are believed to be protective and the provision of clean needles may well limit the risk of transmission, it is naïve to expect uneducated drug addicts to be responsible, and condoms do not provide full proof protection.
“If these are really the only preventative measures that can be offered, failure is assured and the virus will continue to spread. This is an issue that most people are starting to acknowledge.

age of the AIDS pandemic, took up the torch of access as a right and not a privilege, but threw in, “access is not just about pills,” seeing as vital services such as transportation are unavailable to many infected in rural communities.

Seeing as AIDS is truly indiscriminate, Melinda Gates enforced that money and efforts must not be withheld from any group, saying, “we can’t turn out backs on anyone in this disease.” In direct contrast to this idealism, Iskandar proposed that while continuing to tackle eradicating stigma, which is a major battle, it is necessary that “we learn how to live with stigma and discrimination.”

Dr. Piot highlighted the “need to make money work”, citing the example that in Latin America, there is a high prevalence of the disease among gay men; however, very little if any money is going toward that group. In light of the Gates’ recent $500 million donation to the Global Fund, it will be incredibly important to ensure that money does not get tied up in bureaucracy, but that it is directed to where it can truly make a difference.

This is not to say that no money is reaching the ground, since Dr. Piot revealed, “eighty percent of people who need it have access to treatment in Botswana,” a positive return on investment. Unfortunately, Canadian Health Minister Tony Clement could not offer news of such accomplishments, as Canada has failed to make good on promises to send pills overseas. ” In a moment of incoherence reminiscent of Chretien’s ‘a proof is a proof’ speech, Cleme nt mumbled that “the facts are the facts and the facts are that not one pill has flowed.” He ultimately said that Canada stands alongside four other countries that have also failed to live up to their promises, placing it “in good company. Or, I should say bad company, I guess.”

With any luck, the excitement and enthusiasm of the conference organizers and participants will be able to motivate countries such as Canada into action regarding their domestic and foreign policy on AIDS. Political leaders will be critical allies in the coming years, as the world bands together in an effort to form a sustainable long-term response to the HIV/AIDS crisis.

the dismay of the youth media and documentary teams, the visit of the Gates’ was brief; however, shortly after they excitement of the group died down, word arrived that Mary Robinson would be the next personality to grace the desk.

True to her reputation, Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, made an appearance the Youth Pavilion with the intent of making two solid commitments to youth. Quite willing to linger and converse with the group gathered to watch her sign her promise, Mary Robinson infused the crowd with new enthusiasm, as she wrote not one, but two commitments to youth.

“I commit to contacting U.S. universities to see whether they actively support undergraduate and graduate students from devel oping countries and especially positive youth. I also commit to including young people as much as possible in work with Realizing Rights," she declared.

With the support of Mary Robinson, Melinda and Bill Gates, and officials such as Mexican Minister of Health Dr. Julio Frenk, and Toronto Mayor David Miller, the Toronto YouthForce is ensuring that world leaders are being put in a position to be held accountable. Youth will not be satisfied with empty promises, and have harnessed the power contained in a single signature to propel their inclusion and respect.

'ils gèrent plus efficacement l'accès au traitement.

4) Lier ensembre les mécanismes de prise en charge du patient avec une assistance pour le conseil après l'identification du symptôme et fournir un traitement préemptif.

Les jeunes ont un grand besoin d'autonomisation, et ils doivent se faire les propres défenseurs de leur droits!

*** La seconde intervante, de Singapour, a souligné toujours le manque d'information. Selon elle, réduire les symptômes ne suffisent pas mais il est temps de finir de parler pour passer à l'action concrète. Le HIV a été pour elle "positif" dans le seul qu'elle a pu découvrir ce qu'était le sentiment d'Humanité au sein de sa famille, ses amis et l'empathie des personnes de son entourage.

*** Un jeune tanzanien de 17 ans évoquait le sujet de la stigmatisation et de la discrimination. Il est important, selon lui, de trouver des espaces publiques ouverts pour le dialogue. Malgré que le jeune ait été bien accepté, la discrimination demeure un problème et le regard du groupe ou de la communauté est finalement difficile à surmonter dans certains cas. L'idée d'auto-stigmatisation a aussi été une idée forte de son discours, -poignant et authentique-. En effet il faut avoir la force d'en parler avec les autres, et il est nécessaire de rétablir un lien social, se faire accepter et être accepté. "Positiver le HIV" signifie que la compréhension/sensibilisation des "Autres" doit passer avant l'ignorance et la crainte. C'est ce que les jeunes doivent comprendre pour lu tter contre la stigmatisation.



*** Enfin un autre jeune canadien évoquait la nécessité des gouvernements à assurer des fonds pour les jeunes vivant avec le VIH/SIDA, toujours face au peu d'attention porté à des problèmes tels que l'accès au traitement, malgré les progrès des programmes accomplis jusqu'à présent.

*** Henry a conclu ce panel avec la réflexion suivante : de Durban, Bangkog, Toronto à Mexico en 2008, les conférences peuvent toujours être tenues, et des promesses aussi, mais comment de nouvelles infections peuvent-elles encore se produire? Comment la prévention ne peut être-elle pas renforcée? Henry a ensuite évoqué les Droits de l'Homme d'une personne malade. On s'attend à de l'équité, mais on se heurte à u ne discrimination face à l'emploi, une barrière à l'entrée à l'éducation (collèges, universités). Par ailleurs, que peut-on apprendre des erreurs précédentes pour prévenir de nouvelles infections par le virus?
Maintenant que chacun a un siège autour de la table il est temps de parler de ces questions en toute légitimité et les faire entendre, avec un engagement continu à rassembler deux fois plus de jeunes dans les prochains congrès.

Après la session plénière, l'audience a été divisée en 4 groupe pour identifier des engagements face aux quatre premiers thèmes abordés.

Bonne suite de conférence !

TV program broadcast throughout all of India, and that combines the star power of Bollywood with the natural charisma of youth involved in HIV awareness.

Each story brings a top film star together with a yuva star (‘young star’), focusing on the yuva’s work, struggles, aspirations…in other words: the things that all youth can relate to. However, it’s presented through a ‘face-off’ with a huge Bollywood star, which as anyone with a faint understanding of Indian culture knows is absolutely massive there. Evidence shows that viewers recall the HIV activities of both the yuva and film star, and rock concerts, puppet shows, fairs and other community-awareness activities have subsequently grown out of this.

The presenter, from BBC World Service Trust and based in New Delhi, explained that there are many remaining issues with developing such mass media. Men who have sex with men cannot be covered, as such activities are illegal in India. Additionally, gender empowerment and other more sensitive HIV issues are left out, with the focus kept to overcoming stigma, all within a family-viewing orientation.

As disappointing as such limitations are, they’re only to be expected at this stage in the fight and should be viewed as long-term battles for the HIV movement. What’s most encouraging is hearing that such programming is having such a large-scale effect. The BBC World Service Trust is running similar programming throughout other countries in Africa and Asia, all presented through the cultural, celebrity, and linguisticall y-specific design that maximizes effective message reach, hitting target audiences powerfully and broadly.

I’ve heard a lot of the right ideas coming out of abstracts and presentations around youth and HIV that are only being turned into action over the last few years. Themes like youth-adult partnership, youth leadership and design, youth-specific messaging and programming, focusing on girls, education, and the like are all becoming standardized and recognized as the way forward in reversing current trends in youth infection rates.

It’s about time. Now its up to all of us as empowered youth leaders throughout the world to demand that our leaders follow this path.

a press conference at which there were more speakers than audience members at the outset. This was all due to the fact that two rooms down, Toronto Mayor David Miller was involved in a Press Conference, which drew the attention of the media away from a group that is desperately trying to get its message out. But no worries, the press has time to redeem itself – tomorrow at 10:00, the Toronto YouthForce is hosting a second press conference. See you there.

uth as a single group, youth as a united front. But in reality, the term youth covers a HUGE expanse. Among us, some are differently-abled. Some use drugs. Some have very little money. Some have committed crimes. Some live in rural and remote communities. Some are stopped at airports. Some don’t have access to information about international conferences.
I’m getting at the idea that youth are just as diverse as the general population, and if we are going to keep speaking about youth in general, we must make sure that we don’t presume to speak on the behalf of those who are not with us, without their permission. Instead we should be working to enable marginalized youth increased participation in the likes of the AIDS Conference and other international dialogues on issu es affecting humanity at large.

illy, my proposal was selected out of numerous worldwide. My mother was shocked because i stopped telling her about my ideas because she was copying me. Out of four ideas she submitted, none was chosen. I took time to go through my mails, i dont waste time in replying.I dont also copy others,i believe in myself as well the need to get childen involved.
KIDS need to be carried along in this crusade. I started as early as age of four.Nobody is HIV/AIDS positive in my family; but i believe that one rich man in the midst of 10 poor men,is a poor man himself.If many people are dying of HIV/AIDS today and we keep on looking, it could be our town tomorrow.
Though,i ve no problem in getting visa,security problem in London nearly made me sick, well no hard feelings.I relate well with people.i respect the big wigs like the first Lady of Honduras etc, which ay team and i interviewed,but i am not afraid of them as i am used to all classes of people.This is just the begining. by the time iam 15 years, i would have done so much that the whole world especially Africa will be proud of a fine girl called GOLDMARK OWOOLA-ADEOJO OF LIVE A LUVE FOUNDATION, NIGERIA.My thanks to all the youth team,especially Uncle Alex Macclelland,anty Mila Gorovich,anty Nwansa njelemasani etc.

illy, my proposal was selected out of numerous worldwide. My mother was shocked because i stopped telling her about my ideas because she was copying me. Out of four ideas she submitted, none was chosen. I took time to go through my mails, i dont waste time in replying.I dont also copy others,i believe in myself as well the need to get childen involved.
KIDS need to be carried along in this crusade. I started as early as age of four.Nobody is HIV/AIDS positive in my family; but i believe that one rich man in the midst of 10 poor men,is a poor man himself.If many people are dying of HIV/AIDS today and we keep on looking, it could be our town tomorrow.
Though,i ve no problem in getting visa,security problem in London nearly made me sick, well no hard feelings.I relate well with people.i respect the big wigs like the first Lady of Honduras etc, which ay team and i interviewed,but i am not afraid of them as i am used to all classes of people.This is just the begining. by the time iam 15 years, i would have done so much that the whole world especially Africa will be proud of a fine girl called GOLDMARK OWOOLA-ADEOJO OF LIVE A LUVE FOUNDATION, NIGERIA.My thanks to all the youth team,especially Uncle Alex Macclelland,anty Mila Gorovich,anty Nwansa njelemasani etc.

Nous sommes tristes et desempares
De vous savoir absent depuis et toujours
Revenez revenez a la maison des jeunes
Revenez nous dire qu'il n'en sera plus ainsi
Nous vous attendons
Le monde vous observe
Les jeunes vous reclament

MERCI GRACIAS THANK......

dos se habla de que en esta ocasion hay mas de mil delegados menores de 26 años lo cual significa que la cifra se duplico desde Bangkok y es genial ver tanta diversidad entre los jovenes que estamos asistiendo.

El personal de TakingItGlobal ha hecho un trabajo impresionante con lo que respecta a la comunicacion del programa de jovenes asi que les recomiendo que sigan visitando esta pagina diariamente para enterarse de lo que sucedido.

Fue todo un honor para mi haber podido ser el unico latino en la ceremonia inaugural donde tuve la oportunidad de dar un mensaje acerca de los y las jovenes viviendo con VIH/SIDA frente a
30 mil personas en una ceremonia donde se presentaron Alicia Keys, Richard Geere y DJ Tiesto.

Hasta el momento sol o he tenido la oportunidad de conocer a dos miembros de GYCA Cesar Ugarte de Peru y de platicar un poquito con Violeta de Bolivia ya que hay tantas personas que es imposible llegar a conocer
o identificar a otros/as.

Desafortunadamente la presencia de jovenes latinos/as es escasa sin
embargo hay muchos adultos de toda latinoamerica, principalmente de Mexico con motivo de la siguiente Conferencia en el 2008.

Mantenganse al pendiente de la pagina youth.aids2006.org donde encontraran fotos, noticias y todo lo relacionado con el programa juvenil.

Ricardo

ent envie d'aller de l'avant pour lutter contre la pandémie.

Le pasteur Anne Owiti a fait une description en profondeur et émouvante de ses activités au KICOSHEP au Kenya, et le travail qu'elle mène dans les nombreux bidonvilles du pays qui ne disposent même pas de l'électricité. Le VIH atteint là-bas plus de 29 % de la population de certains villages et varie normalement autour de 10%. La pauvreté chez les jeunes est étroitement associée à la maladie. Les rites et coutumes sont parfois préjudiciables à la santé. Par exemple le "cleansing" est un rite selon au cours duquel un homme a rapport sexuel avec une femme dont le mari est décédé du SIDA, afin de la "purifier". La propagation du SIDA vient aussi d'un manque de prévention et de sensibilisation.

Mme Mary Ash a ensuite parlé de son implication à PASADA, à Dar Es Salaam en Tanzanie. Elle soutient les personnes les plus défavorisées depuis 1992 pour leur offir des services de prévention et un soutien médical. Elle a parlé longuement des grands mères privées de soi et de ressources pour vivre et des enfants orphelins, soulevant le principal frein à tout développement possible : l'argent.

La cérémonie s'est conclue brillament avec le discours de clôture de Norman Jewison, un directeur de film reconnu au Canada.

emove me with the police as well as my friend who was visually impaired... I said I am not moving and I was told that it was ok by the head of security. He checked with him and then said it is ok... I was disgusted... How can people who are supposedly able to deal with an event of this size be so discriminatory? Are we going to take this from people who are hosting us in their venue? What can we do as a group (all impaired people) do to voice this and hold them accountable? I am disgusted... If people can't look beyond a physical disability, how the heck are they going to look beyond HIV and AIDS? See my point?

o have been able to come to this conference because she “had thought that HIV/AIDS lived in South Africa only, but learned that all people are suffering from this same problem.”
In the two and a half days leading up to the AIDS Conference, 300 grannies from all over the world gathered as part of the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Committee to offer one another support and share their stories. The outcome of the experience was “The Toronto Statement”, which follows in part:

Each of our stories is different, each of our experiences is unique, and yet we are here as representatives of countless women who share in our tragedy: for every grandmother here today, there are fifty, sixty, seventy thousand at home. We have needs today, needs for the short-term and needs that will never go away. It is our solemn duty to the millions of grandmothers whose voices have never been heard that gives us courage to raise those needs to demands – on their behalf, and on behalf of the children in their care.

In the short-term, we do not need a great deal, but we do need enough: enough to safeguard the health of our grandchildren and of ourselves; enough to put food in their mouths, roofs over their heads and clothes on their backs; enough to place them in school and keep them there long enough to secure their futures. For ourselves, we need training, because the skills we learned while raising our children did not prepare us for parenting grandchildren who are bereaved, impoverished, confused and extremely vulnerable. We need the assurance that when help is sent, it goes beyond the cities and reaches the villages where we live. In the long term, we need security. We need regular incomes and economic independence in order to erase forever our constant worry about how and whether our families will survive.

We grandmothers deserve hope. Our children, like all grandchildren, deserve a future. We will not raise children for the grave.

The resilience and strength of these grandmothers is an inspiration to me, and I only hope that their tireless efforts will continue to be recognized, and their cause held high throughout the week and ever after. My own grandmother plays an important part in my life as a mentor and a role model, and I cannot imagine a better or stronger group of people than grandmothers to be playing the role of caregivers in the absence of mothers and fathers. Yet for as much as they have to give, grandmothers need support, and with the cooperation and collaboration of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, many have found a way to sustain themselves and their families through ARV treatment and the ongoing horror of the AIDS pandemic. As a Canadian grandmother promised, “the grandmothers are going to be taking over the world.”

Not to mention, there appearance was brief and not even the youth media team had a chance to speak with them before they headed off again. I can rest happy knowing that should I bump into Mr. or Mrs. Gates along the way this week, I'll be ready and well-prepared to pose some difficult questions about sex education, condom usage, and gender relations!

biotics, antiviral and anti-cancer drugs which attempt to slow down the damaging effects, and strengthen the immune system. Hence, it is crucial that the medication remains in the body at all times, thereby making the individual less likely to develop more serious conditions.
“It costs $10,000 to undergo the treatment program as set out by pharmaceutical companies in Africa, however, the average "yearly" wage in Africa is just $1,000 for the lucky few,” he said.
He added that experts have said in the absence of pattents drugs could cost as little as $200.

b/t/q communities face. Given the number of languages and cultures represented at the Pre-conference, I knew this would be a challenge.

My solution was to listen. I handed out terms and asked participants to define them. This gave an opportunity for a broader conversation about each term’s meaning. We pulled from participants’ experiences with various organizations and networks doing work around these issues. Discussing the terms created a more comfortable environment for people to ask questions about things they had never heard of before. We had some very interesting conversations on the differences between sex and gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, and how people self identify.

There is a lack of sexuality and gender issues addresse d at this conference, especially around young people. With more youth participants now prepared to highlight these issues, hopefully we can create some real change and ensure that these topics are fully addressed.

king together.
What we had: an hour and a half, no adults, and 125 youth leaders.

While I have facilitated this training a lot through Advocates for Youth, this was a whole new experience.

Through midnight brainstorm sessions, we shaped the workshop and made it relevant for the youth participants. Our goal was to give language to youth participants’ experiences with adults. We wanted to create a space to talk about effectively engaging adults at next week’s conference and about overall youth involvement within future AIDS Conferences. This workshop became a critical space where youth participants could question and discuss their role at the AIDS Conference and within the YouthForce.

My original concerns about the workshop we re quickly dispelled as the workshop turned out to be a great success. Afterwards, everyone was excited and energized to approach, challenge, and work with adults during the Main Conference and beyond.

s cientificos mas novedosos en la lucha contra la epidemia.

Me parece que todavia tenemos mucho que hacer, pero vamos por buen camino. Los mantendre informados!

Un abrazo,

Luis

idea behind the endeavour is to get young people looking at, touching, and talking about condoms. And truth be told, they do look pretty great as pins!
This morning after participating in a youth-run session about youth efforts for the HIV/AIDS fight in Burkina Faso, Malawi, Botswana, and Canada, each attendee was given a clothespin to write on. The message: what you want the world to know. . . As the week progresses, we have been told to pass these pins along in order to spread our messages, share our experiences, and spur on discussions about the things that concern us.
Whereas the media team jokingly asked Dr. Piot if he would wear a condom suit to the opening ceremony, I am starting to wonder if we won’t soon see some among the crowd. I’ll keep you posted.

idea behind the endeavour is to get young people looking at, touching, and talking about condoms. And truth be told, they do look pretty great as pins!
This morning after participating in a youth-run session about youth efforts for the HIV/AIDS fight in Burkina Faso, Malawi, Botswana, and Canada, each attendee was given a clothespin to write on. The message: what you want the world to know. . . As the week progresses, we have been told to pass these pins along in order to spread our messages, share our experiences, and spur on discussions about the things that concern us.
Whereas the media team jokingly asked Dr. Piot if he would wear a condom suit to the opening ceremony, I am starting to wonder if we won’t soon see some among the crowd. I’ll keep you posted.

re observing, but I slipped into the role of cynic.

I was not the only one. Stephen Harper, the new conservative Prime Minister, happened to publicly decline attendance of the event, and when the Health Minister took the stage, a silent protest of signs reading “Sleep in Steven? HIV never rests,” were held aloft. In addition to the Prime Minister’s no-show, signs and chants targeted the potential closing of Vancouver’s sole safe injection space.

During Peter Piot’s speech, others in the crowd lifted banners and wore shirts demanding that targets of universal access to treatment be reached. And when Bill Gates spoke, a sex workers group chanted “Rights not Regs,” the meaning of which I could not clarify.

The highlight of the ceremon y for me was hearing Frika Chia, a beautiful, positive 25-year-old Indonesian woman speak at length about changes required to overcome the epidemic. She identified herself “as the new face of AIDS” – a young, Asian woman, and spoke of the need to include local communities “as part of the solution, and not simply target populations.”

Following this was a large-production benefit concert, at which my friend Ricardo had a 30 second spot, during which he declared his commitment to legislation against HIV discrimination in his country of Mexico, in between dancing to the thumping house beats from DJ Tiesto. Featuring people working so hard on the ground is certainly a step in the right direction.

I spoke to one woman from Ohio about the evolution of the AIDS response. She told me that it goes through waves of diverting attention—gay Whites, women, Africans, youth—when what is really needed is a total response encompassing all groups. As much as I agree with her—and that limiting one’s response to specific groups can be short-sighted—an issue as enormous as this one almost demands that we focus on specific populations, who otherwise will remain neglected or inadequately supported.

When all is said and done, I believe that the world needs an event such as the International AIDS Conference, if only as a space for creating education and awareness, and not for cutting-edge scientific knowledge-sharing. It’s true that an issue as serious and devastating as HIV doesn’t sit well as a celebrity circus—and a strong ar gument that it never should be can be made—but in the world we live in, such consequences are to be expected. Ultimately, though, this is a forum for meeting others involved in the fight, where enjoying each other’s company, variety of backgrounds and offerings is where the real value in such an event lies.

As Barry White (who else?!) led the crowd in a spirited version of “Stand By Me,” hundreds of middle-aged audience members took to their feet during a previously youth-oriented concert program. I glanced around the stadium. Here we were, youth and adults, grooving to the old classic, dancing in different ways and in different groups, but ultimately, as one unified entity. I think we could all do with a little more of the “Barry White factor” throughout this co nference, and as we disperse back to our home countries for that matter.

Sida devaste les communautes entieres partout au monde>>.
Personne dans la grande et luxueuse salle du Rogers centre n'a pu resister a ses propos.

Salut Madame votre engagement nous inspire !!!

en route pour la suite

etoric to Action", and i may say that it was interested and somewhat non-identifiable as how youth are going to be involved in IAC 2008, being held in Mexico. Youth were represented but the most important issues were not addressed. I was very shocked that the only political leader that committed to bringing youth issues was mexico's Helath Minister with the commitment of increasing youth participation in the IAC 2008. Peter Piot, well that was a dispointment.

ouver. Is it enough to have the Ontario premier and Mayor of Toronto as representatives of the Canadian political administration? It's your call.

youth that have travelled thousands of miles to be present this week to learn and to share their experiences and to press for social change, your invisibility in this issue is alarming. It teaches us that we can choose to turn away, close our eyes, and seal our mouths about the things that scare us. Because AIDS is scary, don’t you think sir?
Some have speculated that your aversion to this conference, and perhaps to this cause, lies with the fundamental misconception that this is a homosexual disease. And we are quite aware that your political and religious persuasion leaves little room for the acceptance and tolerance of this group. But Mr. Harper, we are all vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, yourself included. Bearing this in mind, wouldn’t you agree that it’s important to confr ont the issue?
A journalist with the Toronto Star pointedly suggested that perhaps it is this knowledge that keeps you from the AIDS Conference – that maybe you are afraid of coming and catching the disease. But I know that you are above and beyond this sort of ignorant behaviour; I trust in your education and your debriefings on world issues. I trust that you are the sort of man who stands up for your country and your citizens, each and every one. And Mr. Harper, more than 60,000 of them are infected with AIDS.
I understand that it’s late too reverse your decision. You are not the sort of man who rides in on a white horse in the eleventh hour, nor do we want you to be. But Mr. Harper, you do have the chance to redeem yourself, because AIDS will not be gone when this conference closes its doors on Friday. As much as we may scream and holler and toil and strive and sweat and cry, this fight has no expiry date. You have the power and the voice to make our concerns priorities. You have the ability to be a role model and a leader for a cause affecting all of humanity. You still have the chance to do us proud.
Yours sincerely,
Hannah Renglich

ache aux acteurs de la lutte contre le VIH SIDA. Face a cela, M. Bill Gates dira <>. Il faut alors travailler a mobiliser du monde pour convaincre toutes les couches de la societe quelle que soit leur activite.
En 2006 sa fondation a donne 500 millions de dollars au Fonds Mondial dans la luttre contre le VIH SIDA et il annonce une contribution de 900 millions pour l'annee prochaine 2007.

De quoi donner du souffle au combat mondial contre le VIH SIDA. c'est vous dire qu'il se passe de tres bonnes choses ici a Toronto et les jeunes ont des raisons d'esperer et de continuer la lutte.

ON NE LACHE PAS L'AFFAIRE, LEVONS NOUS

WE WON'T GIVE THE FIGHT, STAND UP!!!

ses des DVD traduits dans plusieurs langues africaines a savoir le Fon, le Wolof, le Moore, le Pulaar et le Dioula.
Autant d'actions qui meritent des felicitations et du soutien.

Alors Felicitations, Congratulations, Gracias a Globaldialogues!!!

ion pour combattre le SIDA.

Tout est la, il faut passer a la vitesse superieure pour arreter le train de la mort dans laquelle le SIDA n'arrete pas d'embarquer nos soeurs, nos parents et nos freres.

Votre pierre est neccesaire a l'edifice!!!

audience, there was a very limited amount of time in which the youth sitting behind them could ask questions and engage in any sort of meaninful dialogue.
I cheered along with the rest as Joya Banerjee of the US demanded concrete committments from each of the three remaining global leaders (yes, two left mid-forum for other engagements and by the end, there were only two). She demanded promises and timeframes and promised in return to follow up with each of them.
There's not a real direction to this rambling, other than that my mind keeps wandering back to this 'at the table' idea, which three out of five leaders were unable to fulfill even in a two hour session one morning at this conference. At least I can say, the two men who championed it the most managed to stick arou nd until the applause ended.

r, les aider, ils ont aussi droit comme nous tous a la vie!!!

NUL NE SERA DE TROP DANS CE COMBAT!!!

ting the youth contingent even further with a special Youth Opening Ceremony featuring appearances by Dr. Peter Piot, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hollet, and many more. Stay tuned for details...

tre le VIH SIDA car l'information est au coeur de toute action humaine qui se veut efficace et durable. L'ignorance voire le manque d'informations au sujet de ce mal n'est pas de nature a faire evoluer notre combat commun contre ce malfaiteur.
Sans vous mentir c'est un bon depart pour les evenememts a venir lors de la grande conference. Nous vous ferons le plaisir de vous servir tout au long de la conference afin de vous mettre sur les memes longueurs d'onde.

Merci d'y croire et de joindre votre voix a la lutte!!!

a bientot

t to be performed at the North Regent Park Baseball Field (behind the Saint Cyril church, North of Sackville & Dundas Sts.) on Saturday, August 19, at 8:00 pm. The free concert will use the Hip Hop elements of Graffiti, Break Dancing, and Spoken Word to promote HIV education and prevention.

Hip Hop vs. HIV seeks to effectively prevent HIV through participatory community action in the arts. It is a popular educational program, created by Rodrigo Ardiles in Montreal. It uses “Hip Hop” music and culture to engage youth in their and others’ education about HIV and AIDS. Hip Hop vs. HIV is supported by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). UNESCO works to promote collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to furthe r universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the UN Charter through international project, programs and awards.

Toronto Community Housing is the largest social housing provider in Canada. It is home to about 164,000 low and moderate-income tenants in 58,500 households, including seniors, families, singles, refugees, recent immigrants to Canada and people with special needs.


For more information:
Taiwo Bah
Youth Events Communications Liaison
Toronto Community Housing
(416) 981-4344; M: (416) 896-2169

Jean-Philippe Vezina
Communications francophones L'OBNL les Productions Elephriends et la coopérative de travail
(514) 341-53 95

ogether in good will, online skills and sharp looks to fight the social illness of our time.

A group of young African are joking together, one beating rhythms into a table. Another has a guitar slung across his back. They exchange pounds.

Digital cameras flash, laptop screens glow, side glances are exchanged. This is like freshman orientation at college, except without the parents, and 250 leading youth activists leading mini-revolutions in each of their towns.

The excitement and nerves are palpable. There’ll be over 1,000 of us come the actual conference, and we are gonna be making some serious waves at this show!

ng made, if only gradually. It’s important to realize the context, and to remove as many of your pre-dispositions that one brings in from an affluent West. Because you’re discussing areas where HIV is absolutely wreaking havoc and causing serious, structural damage to societies, this becomes a matter of long-term survival.

Grandmothers are given anti-retroviral drugs and alarm clocks so that they know when to give children under their care their medication. Children are taught to know that they need to take their medication upon hearing the alarm. Through a five-pronged approach encompassing treatment, nutrition, economic empowerment, prevention education and focusing on orphans and vulnerable children, progress is being made. Parent-child relationships are being prolon ged, reducing psychological stress and allowing youth to stay in school.

Still, the point that was made clear to all at the session is that the focus on children and pediatric AIDS drugs needs to be increased. It’s one thing to advocate for youth (15-24 technically speaking). It’s a completely different, but entirely necessary calling to advocate for one of the most powerless of communities in modern society: children.

ogether in good will, online skills and sharp looks to fight the social illness of our time.

A group of young African are joking together, one beating rhythms into a table. Another has a guitar slung across his back. They exchange pounds.

Digital cameras flash, laptop screens glow, side glances are exchanged. This is like freshman orientation at college, except without the parents, and 250 leading youth activists leading mini-revolutions in each of their towns.

The excitement and nerves are palpable. There’ll be over 1,000 of us come the actual conference, and we are gonna be making some serious waves at this show!

one of the success stories, acknowledging that everyone has access to treatment, with a law reaffirming access to treatment. Amavis from El Salvador said that drugs in her country are largely unaffordable for those who need them, because generic drugs are not allowed. Veronica, from Kenya, spoke of wide access to first line drugs – those that treat the virus during the first five or six years of the disease, but limited access to second line drugs, which treat following that period. Her fellow Kenyan, Charles, however, mentioned that ARVs are accessible, free of charge, following recent legislation passed by the Kenyan government, which received a round of applause.

A statistic was offered: “6.5 million people, today, need immediate access to drugs but do not have it.”

A variety of reasons were provided from the session participants: race, stigma, discrimination, class, and other prominent global issues that span far outside of the epidemic. But one stood out: cost, and subsequently, international trade agreements. Following a quick run-down on the World Trade Organization and the Trade, Intellectual Property and Services Agreement, a mock debate between pharmaceutical organization representatives and advocates and conference participants from the Global South took place. Though many of us found the ‘legalese’ spoken in such agreements difficult, and terms such as “compulsory licenses” and “parallel licensing” foreign, the presenters managed to make their major points clear:

- Drug patents were not delivered by God: before WTO, most countried didn’t have drug patents. Why should they be forced to adhere to them now?
- Activism works: at one point, the US government was pressuring the South African government to abandon compulsory licenses, threatening to sanction them if they didn’t. During Al Gore’s Presidential campaign, a group of grassroots student activists pressured him long and forcefully enough that within several months, the Clinton administration reversed its course, leaving South African policy alone.

It was an inspiring message for a group that largely works at the roots of the virus, where their colleagues and peers deal with treatment, education, care and the like on a daily basis.

TB/HIV co-epidemic, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Governments and the international community have got to realize they have on their hands two simultaneous and interrelated catastrophes," UN Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis said, adding, "We must confront both together. We need more resources. We need diagnostics. We need better drugs"
Although Bangladesh, Brazil, Nigeria, Tanzania and Thailand have varying TB/HIV co-epidemics, the governments of all five countries need to increase coordination of TB and HIV/AIDS policies and programs. The stigma and discrimination associated with TB and HIV/AIDS keep many people living with the diseases from seeking treatment -- an issue compounded by a lack of adequate diagnostic tools. One-third of all sputum smear samples f rom HIV-positive people are correctly diagnosed as positive for TB, and any delay in TB treatment among people living with HIV can be fatal, there is a lack of knowledge about TB and TB/HIV co-infection among the public and policymakers in the five countries. People living with HIV/AIDS often do not have basic knowledge about TB even though they are at an increased risk of developing the disease. Advocates, donors and policymakers need to make a commitment to improve social mobilization around TB and TB/HIV co-infection and reduce TB incidence and mortality among HIV-positive people worldwide Let us generate interest in the relationship between TB and HIV/AIDS during the International AIDS Conference.

olonté
Ainsi notre cité, la terre sera épanouie!!!

L'ESPOIR EST DE MISE

Une voix du Bénin

ave never received any financial
support to
address the issue that concerns them.

Nigeria will have to overcome significant barriers such as pervasive
stigma and
discrimination, lack of a national legal framework and legal remedies
to limit
discrimination and ensure of confidentiality; prevention, care and
treatment;
and failure to support youths networks.

I am suggesting that it is essential that top political leadership and
ministerial officials should become more directly engaged in trying to
control
HIV/AIDS, in resolving difficult and enduring policy issues and in
directing
a truly multi-sector approach.

Only high-level national leadershi p can effectively confront the deep
stigma
that surrounds HIV/AIDS and the high-risk behaviors at the center of
the
epidemic.

oivent conaitres une amélioration de leurs conditions de travail et de vie si nous voulons contenir les méfaits du SIDA.

Je nous souhaite tous de bonnes reflexions afin que notre cause commune celle d'un mode meilleur puisse devenir un réalité.

Bienvenue a TORONTO

cent.
The burden of caring for People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) is
also proportionately higher in the case of women, whether or not they
themselves are HIV positive. Of the 882 caregivers in the families
surveyed, 627 were women — 91 per cent of them in the age group 15-59. Twenty
per cent of the caregivers themselves were HIV positive, as against 16
per cent in the case of men.
Conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research
(NCAER) and supported by the NACO and the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), the study concludes that not only does women's workload at
home increase, but they are also required to take up employment to
supplement lost earnings.
In a clear indication of the gender gap in treatment seeking
behaviour, close to 9.7 per cent of the patients were left untreated in the
case of HIV/AIDS affected women, the study found, nearly double the case
of men. Also, women were more likely to get treated in health facilities
run by government or non-government organisations in comparison to a
greater proportion of men being treated at private nursing homes. Only
29.8 per cent of the women surveyed went to private health facilities for
non-hospitalised illnesses, against 41.3 per cent in the case of men. A
similar picture can be seen in the case of hospitalised illnesses.
While HIV and AIDS have a negative impact on children from affected
households, it is t he girl child who is more likely to be withdrawn to
cope with household chores or to supplement the family income. All
PLHWAs face stigma and discrimination; the women face the worst forms of
discrimination. More women than men faced discrimination such as neglect,
isolation and verbal teasing in both urban and rural areas.
Households headed by HIV positive widows are also found to be
economically worse off than other HIV households, with the average at Rs.
32,993 in the case of women and Rs. 51,111 in the case of men. The average
per capita expenditure by HIV positive widow household was Rs. 790.
Moreover, the savings of HIV positive widow households was lower and
indebtedness higher than other HIV household s.

ogical Materials will be provided at the Venue. Internet Conferencing
will be available at a price.
All participants interested to chair or facilitate a section of the pre-conference are
to send their paper on or before August 2nd, 2006. Suggestions and advice are
welcome from all and sundry.
For confirmation of attendance, kindly send a mail to waylay_ngr@yahoo.com
or akinbo@savechildrennow.org. You can also call our lines (08056681661,
08056520225, and 08057351116). You are welcome.
SUMMIT WALK
In preparation for the National Youth Summit comes up as scheduled.
DATE:
Saturday, August 5th, 2006
TIME:
11.00am to 2.00pm
VENUE:
Ogun and Lagos, simultaneously.
2
ALLOCATION AN D GROUPINGS.
Allocation of T-Shirts to all will be done on the spot. Kindly come along with your
printed copy of invitation or cross-check application print out from the Registration
Unit. All Trousers or Skirts should be plain black.
Distribution of handbills on pressing issues concerning Education and Health will be
available courtesy of various Institutions responsible for such information. Any other
contribution will be screened for approval as we welcome collective donation towards
growth and development.
3
The Nigerian Youth Leaders Summit takes place two (2) months before the convening
of the Nigerian Youth Summit, at which youth leaders will discuss the progress they
have made in meeting up the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in their various
organizations and jurisdiction. The Goals are a set of development promises that the
191 member countries of the United Nations have pledged to meet by the year 2015,
such as eradicating poverty to developing a global partnership for development, which
can be related to the Gleneagles Package for Africa.
The Nigerian Youth Leaders Summit aims to encourage today’s young people to view
the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals as the special mission of their
generation. At the summit, conference participants will engage in workshops and
discussions aimed at equipping them with the tools to effectively campaign and raise
support for the MDGs on their campuses, various organizations , local government,
states and in their respective district.
Thanks to the generous support of the Nigerian Polity, the conference is free for
selected students including food and tuition (although transportation is at participants'
expense).
Interested youth leaders and students should send a resume and brief cover letter
(subject: Application) the email below or apply through our online forum
(please scroll below for instructions).
Applications will be considered on a selection platform without bias through midnight
on Friday, August 11th, 2006 by 10.00 pm and applicants will be notified within 48
hours of submission if they have been selected to attend the conference. Nigerians-in-
Diaspora are also invited.
If you have any questions, please write (subject: enquirers) to
councilofnigerianyouths@yahoo.com or akinbo@savechildrennow.org
4
OUR SPONSORS
The Summit is sponsored by the Nigerian Polity. These are well meaning Nigerians
who have the interest of the youth at heart with the need to empower the less privileged
youth.
The conference is being co-sponsored by the West African Youth Leadership
Association (WAYLA), which has been in the forefront of training minds in the past
six (6) years with a track record of producing productive leaders.
Another co-sponsor is Ace Consult, Inc. The Incorporation has launched and supported
several major student-driven campaigns, such as the HIV/AIDS Walk campaigns, the
S tudent Campaign for Child Survival with PACT-OAU, and with Student Union of
various institutions in Nigeria.
The Save Children Now (SCN),Heartfelt Foundation, Readers Club of Nigeria, African
Youth Voice (AYV), Statesmen Foundation, Inc. (SFI), The Advocate, Yomm Kinboss
Nig. Ltd., amongst others is also co-sponsoring the event.
All financially committed outfits will be published in good time.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Students are invited to get involved immediately in the struggle to end the poverty of
inclusion in the National decision making by participating in the online forum of the
Nigerian Youth on the TIG Blog. Youth and student group’s leaders are asked to spread
the word about the MDGs by encouraging peers to particip ate in online discussions.
Log on to http://www.tigblog.org/group/cny and make your voice count.

Omolara Onafowope (Miss)
Co-Consultant, Ace Consults, Inc.
Co-Director, West Africa – SCN.
151, LAGOS/ABEOKUTA EXPRESSWAY,
SANGO OTA - OGUN STATE.

of resources are not
historical norms. In the past, I believe the distance between rich and
poor was much less because of the practical limits to what technology
could do. With the loss of those natural limits to growth and technology
development, we see gross distortions between the haves and have-nots
globally. This trend if unchecked will threaten the stability of not
only globalization but the whole process of modernization itself as it
will lead not only to rising resentment but increasing impulses to strike
back at the powerful by any means necessary - terrorism.

Now in terms of your comments regarding the market system I agree but I
want to add what I see as was and is still missing in the tradit ional
left-right dialectic. First the left needs to accept the understanding
that liberalization is necessary but the problem is how to liberalize.
It is the difference between a development program based on rhetoric and
results driven actions involves transparency and such action oriented
development in my view involves the empowerment of local economic actors
at the grassroots.

In Africa there are many famous stories of national leaders who started
out driven by noble and idealistic visions and descended into
corruption and dictatorship and civil war. In Tanzania my understanding was that
collectivist approach inspired by Marx was a failure. Yet this does not
mean that we should or do not need to be more collective in our
approach. However, such strategies would in my view best designed as hybrid,
market driven social enterprises. This includes in my view a community
based development strategy that focuses on building a open society and
encourages local innovation in moving away from top down development
models that disregard the needs of local people while propping up the
political legitimacy of Western as well as local elites.

Also key is the rise of clever appropriate technologies and approaches
that bring people together in a multisectorial approach to development.
For example, considering a lack of adequate food supply as a key health
issue in Africa, we might consider the development of new Integrated
Farming/sustainable agriculture systems that: requires little land; is
highly productive; requires minimal inputs (mechanization, fertilizer and
pesticides); and regenerates the soil. Today the small farmer dominated
agricultural system in Africa is dependent on western agricultural
development model that benefits the western agribusiness industries more
than the people in Africa and this is the root of Africa's ills. And it
is not just the corporations selling this corrupt system but it is
western governments, academia and even most of the mainline NGO community.
And I think the reasons for this are obvious - everyone (the established
players) gets a piece of the development action.

Because most African societies are still agricultural and rural based,
we need to look at this issue deeply. Any health care solution in
Africa is not sustainable, if there is no sustainable economy for the
grassroots. And most importantly we need to provide systems for providing
healthy food for local people that does not degrade the environment to
complement any serious approach to the many health issues discussed here.
My suggestion is that the West needs to re-evaluate its role in
creating the structural deficiencies in Africa and other developing regions
and to see the key role its big business sectors play in this. If the
West is going to claim to help Africa with its situation, we need to be
serious a bout it and not actually do more harm than good, perpetuating
our dysfunctional role in exacerbating Africa's problem that began with
colonialism.

For example something is wrong with a system that exports coffee,
fruits and other tropical products desired by temperate affluent regions of
the world, while the people in these regions working the fields and
playing other supportive roles in sustaining this infrastructure do not
themselves have enough food to eat. We are all complicit in this
dysfunctional system and we need to take responsibility for our complicity by
doing more to support an alternative development model that promotes
sustainable agricultural solutions that focus on local needs first.

The prices of desirable commodities produced in emerging markets would
be based on a global tax as part of the WTO regime to ensure the cost
of shipping these products to western markets:
1. Credible scientific evidence that fossil fuels contribute to global
warming
2. Impact of primarily western owned plantations in terms of degrading
the soil
3. Removal of biomass from tropical regions that ends up perversely in
landfills in affluent nations and finally the reality.
4. Exploitation of the workers
5. Consideration of the fact that precious lands are being used to
export foods in regions of the world where large sections of the local
populations do not have their caloric and nutritional ne eds met.

The proceeds of this tax would go towards the funding of a
comprehensive sustainable development plan that would ensure that local farmers
promoting more sustainable agricultural practices could sustain themselves
and that their production if necessary would in effect be subsidized so
that more local people could afford to buy their products. This would
have the effect of inducing more balanced agricultural development
strategies so that the need to create foreign exchange through the export of
commodities was balanced with the immediate needs of local people to
adequately provide food, shelter, clothing, health care clean drinking
water and proper sanitation to themselves and their families.

ntations at the conference from a youth perspective!

Some of the programming in the pavilion to look forward to includes: art and photo exhibits, street theatre, music, and poetry presentations, fashion shows, presentations of successful models (including economic development and sport), and various edutainment activities. Some of the content to be covered in the pavilion includes: stigma, harm reduction, meaningful youth involvement, human rights, access to treatment, culture, prevention and gender, just to name a few.

The Youth Pavilion is not just presentations. It will also include a youth media hub as well as a lounge for youth to relax or hold informal meetings. We hope that the YP is also a space where youth can rejuvenate and make lasting connections with other youth and adult allies.

So make sure you spend some time at the Youth Pavilion during the conference, and spread the word about this dynamic, youth focused space! Watch for updates to be posted on the youth website.

o $237 billion, if the government failed to take adequate action. Conversely, the study said, "it is possible to argue that in the next decade the annual GDP growth rate can be increased by up to 1 percent if AIDS is effectively countered." Thought to be the largest study of AIDS in India conducted so far, the research came out with a companion assessment of the socioeconomic impact of the epidemic in India. It was based on a sample of 2,068 HIV households (which includes 2,385 people living with HIV and AIDS) and 6,223 non-HIV households, taken from the six states in the country that are known to have the highest prevalence of HIV infection. The report set off debate in New Delhi, with some questioning its methodology and the projected figures for the number of HIV-infected people used by the research group. "In 2005 the number of HIV-infected persons exceeds five million and this number is expected to quintuple to between 20 million and 25 million by 2010," the research group stated in the report. " With that kind of a jump in the number of HIV cases in the next 5-10 years there is bound to be a visible impact on the national economy." However, both the Indian AIDS agency and officials from Unaids in Delhi contested the suggestion that the number of infected people would increase fivefold over that period, arguing that the figure would be much lower. "We believe that there is going to be a reversal of the epidemic by 2008 and 2009," said Ruben del Prado, of Unaids in Delhi. How many people are living with the HIV virus in India is a source of controversy. A Unaids report in May found that India had overtaken South Africa as having the world's highest number of people infected with HIV/AIDS, an estimated 5.7 million. But India's health minister insisted the number of infections stood at 5.2 million. The India agency is confident that its current program to stop the spread of the disease will avert the risk of the epidemic having such a heavy impact on the economy. As part of the organization's campaign, agency officials announced this week that they supported the legalization of homosexuality in India, arguing that the criminalization of gay men was hampering efforts to curb the virus. The law "can adversely contribute to pushing the infection underground," the agency said in a statement filed in the Delhi High Court Wednesday, in support of a petition laun ched by a local AIDS pressure group demanding the repeal of a 145-year-old law banning homosexuality. The legislation was introduced by the British colonial rulers in 1861, and made gay sex punishable with up to 10 years in prison. Although the law is rarely enforced with prosecutions, the agency said that the "fear of harassment by law enforcement agencies" meant that men were forced into hiding, without access to health-care and safe sex information. "For the prevention of HIV/AIDS it is essential that there should be an enabling environment where the people involved in risky behavior may be encouraged not to conceal information so that they are provided total access to services," the agency's statement said. Human Rights Watch warned earlier this year that the Indian government's decisi on to "cling to the criminalization of homosexual conduct" prevented people coming forward for HIV/AIDS testing, information and services. The Unaids India coordinator, Denis Broun, agreed, and warned that the "criminalization of people most at risk of HIV infection may increase stigma and discrimination, ultimately fueling the AIDS epidemic."

ever, dengue and west nile virus).
Since malaria has not been a problem in the area since around 1950,
spraying against malaria is not done ... which seems to make sense! My
conclusion is that aerial spraying is a very appropriate and cost effective
way of delivering anti-mosquito pesticide, especially with modern
understanding of pesticide and the use of ultra low volume (ULV) technology.
I have made some cost estimates for aerial treatment and it is very low
cost per acre ... and depending on population density can be very low
cost per capita of human population.

Chris talks about the mosquito (specifically anopheles gambiae s.s.)
breeding in all sorts of small, transient rain-fed pools ... and how it
is unrealistic and uneconomic to expect that larvaciding can be
effective. I am not at all sure that Chris is right. From a practical
scientific point of view, larvaciding works ... though it is difficult to
organize over a big area. I don't think this problem is insurmountable,
though it must not be ignored. Arguably cleaning up the environment and
larvaciding is the best way to break the cycle of mosquito population
rebuilding. Building the Panama Canal 100 years ago was done in the face of
virulent malaria, in large part by cleaning up the environment where
the work was going on and where workers were living. Spatial information
seems to suggest that not all water has the same breeding performance.
I have not been able to find much cost and result information that
convinces me that insecticide treated bednets is the best way to go for
effective mosquito malaria control interventions. While an individual
seems to get less malaria when they use a bednet ... the cumulative
experience in the community does not seem to change very much. This may not be
the right conclusion, because the information available is not very
clear. Rather than having a focus on costs and results (as measured by
reduction in the prevalence of malaria in the community), much of the cost
performance information relates to merely the cost and the scale of
distribution of bednets into the community ... an interesting metric, but
no t a metric that helps determine the effectiveness of bednets as an
anti-malaria intervention. I think it is fair to conclude that bednets on
their own do not make much of a difference, even when they are widely
distributed. I would love to know more about costs and reduction in
malaria parasite prevalence using the bednet approach.

There seems to be a lot of information that shows that interior
residual spraying (IRS) does have a significant impact on the prevalence of
malaria in the community ... and especially when DDT is used as the
pesticide. The cost of a large scale IRS program is substantial, but the
results seem to justify the expenditure, especially if DDT is permitted.
Sadly use of DDT in a cou ntry has the possibility of creating trade
issues with Europe, not so much because of prevailing legislation but
because of corporate environmental sensitivities and concern that there
might be adverse consumer impact.

The role of medical interventions is not insignificant. Remove the
parasite from the human host and malaria transmission will be reduced ...
though it is not easy to get the reduction in malaria transmission low
enough so that the parasite population gets reduced. It can be done ...
but it is not the norm for Africa at the moment.

Clearly resistance is an issue in any chemical intervention ... whether
against the mosquito or the malaria parasite. A modern management
informat ion system for any intervention should take this into consideration
and collect appropriate data and use it to manage the interventions.

Lastly ... the information I have been able to collect seems to suggest
that a variety of interventions going on together and coordinated gives
the best results at least cost. A data driven program, including
spatial information about all the interventions and all the results can be
used to keep costs down and to deliver better than "average" results. But
in order for data to be useful, they must be organized as "management
information" for decision making and not merely to satisfy academic
criteria.

goes on.

"We have the knowledge to defeat HIV now, we know what is effective, and that is recognising that the epidemic is caused by human rights abuses, which fuel the epidemic," Joseph Amon, director of the HIV/AIDS Programme at Human Rights Watch (HRW), told IPS.

Since the virus was first identified in the early 1980s, HIV/AIDS has claimed 22 million lives and infected over 60 million people. Last year, five million people were newly infected and three million died of AIDS.

Between 2003 and 2005, the number of people living with HIV in East Asia rose by more than 25 percent and the number of people living with HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia rose more than one-third.

But according to HRW and others, in the 25 years s ince AIDS was first discovered, few countries have succeeded in controlling the epidemic. Those that have done so have provided comprehensive information on HIV transmission to their populations, addressed the vulnerability of women and girls to violence and abuses, ensured access to condoms, clean needles and methadone, and expanded access to anti-retroviral drugs.

Experts stress that vulnerability to HIV/AIDS is closely tied to the social marginalisation of people most affected by the virus. They include young girls, injecting drug-users, sex workers, men who have sex with men, migrants and prisoners, categories which are frequently victims of discrimination and other human rights abuses.

The connection between abuses of women's rights and their vulnerabil ity to the disease is particularly evident in sub-Saharan Africa, where 58 percent of those infected with AIDS are women. According to HRW, in 2003, half of all governments in sub-Saharan Africa had yet to adopt laws specifically banning discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS, while only one-third of countries worldwide had adopted legal measures specifically outlawing discrimination against populations vulnerable to the disease.

"If we attack the epidemic by attacking human rights abuses we can turn the epidemic around. The way we can do that is to have comprehensive prevention and information provided to people. We need to empower communities to take the step that they need to recognise the epidemic and respond to it," Amon told IPS.

Documentin g and punishing human rights abuses related to HIV/AIDS is essential in raising public awareness and fighting the epidemic. Unless countries adopt approaches to HIV that are rooted in human rights principles and informed by scientific evidence, the epidemic will keep growing, HRW says.

The need for global HIV prevention based on sound scientific evidence is supported by groups like the Caucus for Evidence-Based Prevention, a coalition of U.S.-based non-governmental organisations and their international partners whose aim is to implement strategies with proven success in lowering HIV transmission rates.

In fact, according to the multidisciplinary group of more than 30 organisations, for different reasons, too often strategies with no proven efficacy have been promoted instead of those that are known to work.

For example, in Uganda, once one of the continent's greatest success stories in reducing HIV rates, infections are now on the rise again since the government and evangelical groups have pushed abstinence-only messages and attacked the effectiveness of condoms.

In Thailand, another initial bright spot in the fight against AIDS, condom use is down and infections of sexually transmitted diseases are up. HRW says the government has done little to reduce HIV infection among drug users or migrant workers, and leading AIDS experts say that Thailand's success is "history".

In Zimbabwe, some 350,000 people urgently need anti-retroviral drugs but only about 25,000 have access to them. The life expectan cy for women is 34 years -- the lowest in the world.

In the United States, African American women are 19 times more likely to be infected with HIV than white women. The number of new infections has remained static for a decade, and HRW says that "programmes that once vigorously and creatively challenged communities to confront AIDS and learn how to protect themselves from HIV are being replaced by proposals to eliminate individual pre-test counseling and written consent, and simply have doctors routinely test everyone they treat for HIV."

"One of the ways to combat the epidemic is by having greater accountability by governments, having better cooperation between civil society and governments in terms of monitoring the epidemic, having specific concrete goals and having periodic reports that include civil society in terms of tracking progress," Amon said.

"In Southern Africa, for instance, there are many policies which maintain the vulnerability of women and there is also a lack of protection and enforcement of property rights abuses. The traditional systems often do very little to respond to those abuses," he noted.

At the just-concluded Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, leaders of the world's richest nations adopted a document pledging to achieve "tangible progress" in the fight against HIV/AIDS by 2010. However, activists said donors must also increase funding or they would miss their own target, set last year at the summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, of providing treatment to four million African s by that same deadline.

In order to achieve universal treatment for HIV/AIDS, at least an additional 10 billion dollars would be needed, they note.

Many hopes are now pinned on the Aug. 13-18 conference in Toronto, where HRW has called on government representatives, United Nations officials and delegates to recognise that "only by protecting the rights of those most vulnerable, and by empowering those most marginalised, can the few success stories to date in the fight against AIDS be expanded and sustained." (END/2006)

d HIV/AIDS

Gracia Violeta Ross Quiroga
National Chair, Bolivian Network of People Living
with HIV/AIDS

Amaranta Gomez
Oaxaca, Mexico

Iryna Borushek
Founder, All-Ukrainian Network for PLWHAs

Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro
Secretary General, World YWCA

Kecia Larkin
Board Member, Red Road HIV/AIDS Network

Claire Thiboutot
Director, Stella l'amie de Maimie

Lina Chirimanzi
Zimbabwe

Maire Bopp
Founder, Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation

Prisoners' HIV/AIDS Support Action Network

Posawawajek Aboriginal Women Drummers & Singers

(all speakers/perform ers subject to change)

WHEN Monday, August 14, 2006

Rally starts at 7:00 am

March starts at 7:50 am

WHERE Rally held at Metro Hall Square (King Street West between John and Simcoe Streets)


MORE Bring your own banner!

The first 1500 people will receive a free t-shirt!

***Attention Registered Delegates*** Join us immediately after the march in the plenary hall
to hear Louise Binder address issues concerning women and girls.

RSVP Please click here to let us know you can attend:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=766732355748

INFO Leah Stephenson at le ah@ctac.ca or +1-416-422-0114 or http://ctac.ca/en/rally

are seen as
resources for communities and skills development has been identified for
youth to be active participants to bring about change at a local level.
"In terms of combating HIV/AIDS, we are developing the capacity of
youth to work in partnership with adult leaders and governments to
promote primary prevention. "This involves training on behaviour-change
communications programmes with a life-skills focus which are age-relevant
and gender-sensitive.
"It also includes training to advocate for the rights of people
living with HIV/AIDS for interventions to counteract stigma and
discrimination, and for access for antiretroviral treatment, especially for
children and young people as they are typical ly excluded from ARV treatment."
Guerrrero encouraged young YMCA delegates to take the lead in
identifying orphans and vulnerable children in their local communities and to
bring their needs to the attention of local authorities to ensure these
children are integrated into their communities to receive essential
care and service.
"To tackle basic education and gender equality, UNICEF and YMCA are
promoting improved community and family care practices to assist
children to be ready to start primary school on time, especially marginalized
children and indigenous peoples.
"We also encourage you as young leaders to use your large worldwide
YMCA network to collaborate with the United Nations Girls Educatio n
initiative to promote social mobilisation and acceleration campaigns aimed
at improving access to and completion of primary school."
Another area involves the promoting of safe, effective, child-centred
and gender-sensitive education in formal and non-formal settings to
foster effective development and participation of children and young
people and to contribute to gender equality in and through education.
"Concerning promoting the protection of children from violence,
exploitation and abuse, UNICEF and YMCA will use the UN Study on Violence
against Children as a framework to promote inter-generational dialogue on
children's rights, such as violence in families, schools, communities,
institutions an d regarding children in conflict with the law.
After the study is tabled in the UN General Assembly around October
this year, the two world organisations will promote opportunities for
young people and children to be involved in its implementation,
monitoring and evaluation.
"We urge youth in the YMCA to be actively involved in producing
educational materials on the human rights dimension of gender inequality to
empower girls and young women to assume their rightful positions in
society and to end violence against women."
Through exposing delegates to each others experiences of leadership,
the three-day World Youth Council aimed to equip these young delegates
to go back to their local YMCAs around th e world to transform the
social and economic realities in their communities in innovative and
community-driven ways.
These younger leaders joined another 600 delegates at the World
Council of YMCAs which runs from 10 - 15 July at Durban's Amphitheatre,
South Africa.
It was hoped that after their experiences at the Youth Council, it
would be the younger leaders whose voice is heard the loudest, driving
the debates and the agenda at the World Council, which decides policy for
the YMCA movement for the forthcoming four years.
The YMCA is the world's largest social movement with 45 million
members in 124 countries.
With over 14 000 local YMCAs, this voluntary Christian movement of
women and men has a special emphasis on youth development. YMCAs work for
social justice for all people, irrespective of religion, race, gender
or cultural background

and poses one of the most formidable challenges
to the development, progress and stability of our respective societies
and the world at large. AIDS takes its heaviest toll amongst the most
productive demographic group in society - people aged 20 to 40 - and
continues to threaten social stability and national security.
Despite being curable, tuberculosis (TB) kills nearly two million
people each year and just over 50% of TB patients have access to
life-saving, anti-TB drugs. TB is the leading killer of people living with AIDS
and is responsible for up to 30% of AIDS deaths worldwide. Africa’s
HIV/AIDS epidemic is driving an explosion of TB and is the only continent
where the TB incidence rate is still increa sing. In addition, malaria
causes more than 300 million acute illnesses and kills as many as 2.7
million people every year.
In order to stop the global spread of these three major killers we
call on the G8 leaders to:
scale up universal access to quality and comprehensive
prevention, treatment, care and support services by applying successful
prevention measures already developed, tested and proven effective in order to
avert a substantial increase in HIV/AIDS cases in the coming decades;
confront the injection drug use-driven epidemics in many parts of the
world by promoting two evidenced-based and highly effective measures
that address their specific needs by a) scaling up needle exchange at th e
national level exceeding at least 60% of coverage, and b) make
substitution therapy available. We specifically urge G8 leaders to institute
substitution therapy as a measure to prevent HIV, reduce crime rates, and
ensure ARV adherence to avoid the emergence of untreatable resistant
forms of the virus;
recognize the destructive nature of the TB/HIV co-epidemic and ensure
integration of prevention and treatment services related to both
infections;
support the promotion of male and female condoms as a key primary
prevention method to avoid HIV infection amongst the general population
and not only targeted vulnerable groups;
recognize that gender inequality, stigma, discrimination (in
p articular, discrimination based on race and sexual orientation), social
exclusion and denial of human rights and fundamental freedoms are major
drivers of the global HIV epidemic and must be fully and urgently addressed
at all levels of society;
review, adopt, implement, and enforce legislation and policies to
protect and promote the rights of people living with and affected by HIV
and AIDS, and those who are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection;
ensure that national health systems are strengthened and the HIV
response be integrated into primary health services that are provided in an
equitable manner by trained personnel;
help reduce the global HIV/AIDS resource gap both nationally and
internat ionally, including full funding of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Global Plan to Stop TB and the Gleneagles
commitment to Universal Access to HIV/AIDS treatment by 2010;
ensure quality treatment and care by insisting on the use of
evidence-based practices and an adequate monitoring of implementing these
approaches by health care providers both at the levels of primary health and
inpatient care;
increase institutional and other investments for fostering Research &
Development (R&D) activities in order to develop more efficient and
affordable medicines and vaccines to properly treat and prevent such
infectious diseases as TB, HIV/AIDS and malaria. In relation to this, G8
co untries are recommended to cooperate and support R&D efforts of product
development by Public-Private partnerships, particularly for new
diagnostics and vaccines;
increase investment for female-controlled methods of prevention
including microbicides, drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for AIDS, TB,
malaria and other neglected diseases;
acknowledge the central role of people living with HIV/AIDS in
accordance with the GIPA (Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS)
principles—at all levels of and as equal partners in the national and
international response, including in the setting of goals and
priorities; allocation of resources; design, planning, implementation, monitoring
and evaluation of HIV/AIDS policies and programs;
recognize that violence against women and girls, including all forms
of rape, female genital mutilation, incest, early and forced marriage,
trafficking and sexual and economic exploitation, increases their
vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and contributes to the conditions fostering its
spread. We urgently request G8 countries to reform and enforce
legislation to protect women and girls from violence, and, in this regard, stress
that women have the right to have control over and decide freely on
matters related to their sexuality, including their sexual and
reproductive health; and
encourage trade agreements that take into account public health needs
and avoid restricting acce ss to essential medicines.
We urge the G8 countries to increase resources that reduce the impact
of the inequality of women affected by HIV by eliminating all forms of
discrimination and violence against women and abuses of sexual and
reproductive health and rights;
We also urge the G8 leaders to support Civil Society together with
multilateral agencies to implement strategies and develop a comprehensive
package of services that respond to the needs of those who are
particularly vulnerable to HIV infection, such as injecting drug users, sex
workers, men who have sex with men, prison inmates and vulnerable
children;
We urge the G8 leaders to be accountable to previous declarations and
associat ed global targets included in the 2001 Declaration of
Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS adopted by
the United Nations General Assembly, the G8 Communiqué from Gleneagles
(2005), the Dublin, Beijing and the 2001 Doha Declarations, the Africa
Action Plan, the Paris AIDS Summit Declaration of 1994 and the
Millennium Development Goals;
In order to assure the longer-term financing required to support
universal access to prevention, treatment and care, G8 leaders should
pursue a range of innovative financing mechanisms including support for the
International Drug Purchasing Facility, the International Financing
Facility and Advanced Market Commitments for vaccines;
We re quest that you take these recommendations forward by actively
involving civil society expertise at all levels, especially people living
with HIV/AIDS;
We also recommend that Germany prioritize HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria at
future G8 Summits in order to better coordinate the global response and
reduce the socio-economic impact of these diseases;
We, members of Civil Society, pledge our full support to work in
partnership with G8 governments to fight AIDS, TB and malaria. We invite
President Putin, and each of the G8 leaders to show compassionate
leadership and visit a civil society-run HIV/AIDS programme before the end of
this year. The personal engagement and support of each of the G8 heads
of state wi ll be critical to the success to all our efforts.

Thank you.

hysical,
socio-economic and medical implications of the AIDS pandemic.
Various foreign AIDS activists who are living with the disease are
expected to attend the conference.Said Amupolo: "We have invited AIDS
activists from South Africa and Europe, most of them living with the
disease, to attend the conference to take place from 22 until 24 August this
year."
It will be the second conference for People Living with HIV/AIDS,
after the Catholic Aids Action (CAA) held the first one in Windhoek in
1998.
The Yelula Project is responsible for organizing the conference in
conjunction with civil society at grassroots level and wants to enhance
organisational and leadership capacity in response to the HIV/AIDS
pandemic.
The project also targets people living with HIV and AIDS, and
attempts to elicit and strengthen community responses to voluntary counselling
and testing, treatment, orphans and vulnerable children.

al figure like Bill Gates, Nelson Mandela, Bono or Oprah - or someone much closer to home. We want people to join us and say 'I'm in' - and tell us who they most want to be 'in with' to have the best chance of ending poverty."

Oxfam expect thousands of people to nominate either by texting, going online or through the Oxfam shops, ahead of the polls launch The Archbishop Desmond Tutu nominates George Bush, he explains;

"It strikes me that the one person who can overcome global poverty is George Bush. Stop the escalation of armaments and weapons and put the money into developing people. It is the arms manufacturers who control the national budgets of almost every country. Re-deploy those billions and
the world will be transformed."

The 'I'm In' campaign aims to get one million people to pledge their support to Oxfam over one hundred days - either by donating, volunteering or campaigning for change.

'I'm in' builds on the legacy of 2005, which saw record public support for the tsunami aid effort, with eight million people wearing white bands in support of the Make Poverty History campaign, and a quarter of a million people taking to the streets of Edinburgh to march for justice around the
time of the G8 summit.

People signing up to the campaign will be invited to vote in the I'm In People's Poll. Oxfam will collect votes and publish the results this Spring. Individuals with the most votes will be challenged to help rid
the world of poverty and injustice.

Votes can be cast online or by text from today. The closing date for nominations is March 25th 2006.

camp are still attacked."

Ronan, 18, travelled to Darfur earlier this month with his mother, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow, to highlight the ongoing need to help children caught up in the violence there.

"Young people have really been at the centre of this conflict," he observes. "Children have really been hit harder than anyone else. The camps are 90 per cent women and children. That's a population of 2 million people now."

'Compelled to do something'

In Darfur, Ronan met with children whose lives have been turned upside down, including one 17-year-old boy who has been fighting with the Sudanese Liberation Army rebel forces since he was 13.

"He was awakened one morning four years ago by the sound of gunsh ots," says Ronan. "The Janjaweed swept through his village on horseback and camel. They slaughtered everyone, raped women, and his entire family was killed. He survived only by hiding among the corpses of his relatives. After it was all over, he walked for seven hours across the desert and the first people he encountered were these rebel fighters. He said he was eager to take up arms."

The fact that children have been forced to take up arms, becoming at once victims and a part of the problem, is a "vivid illustration of the failure of the international community," notes the UNICEF spokesperson.

"It's difficult, after meeting people of my own age and looking into their eyes and hearing their stories, not to feel compelled to do something," he adds. "And I've fo und that when I tell people these stories, they have the same reaction. They want to do something."

Aid workers as role models

Ronan continues: "People really can help. I've seen examples of really fun things like dance competitions for Darfur, or people getting their church groups or their schools together to send money. UNICEF [in Sudan] is only 20 per cent funded at the moment, so things like that can make all the difference right now.

"One thing people can do is push their leaders in Congress to seek political solutions. The other is, of course, to support the massive humanitarian effort. I know firsthand from being there that UNICEF is doing extraordinary work, as are the other aid organizations.

"My role models would be the aid workers I've met working out in the field, heroically struggling to keep people alive. Nothing would make me more proud than to end up spending my life in a conflict-afflicted region trying to help people in whatever small way I can."

forward.

In view of this, Movement for the Protection of African Child {MOPOTAC} concerned for the welfare, Education and protection of the African Child and Young persons, in conjunction with Vision Outreach and Peak Line Sports her brand Organisations for a wider coverage, advocacy and better mobilization of the youths, is coming up with this Camp Exercise.

Aim:
o To proffer workable solutions to the seemingly insurmountable problems facing young persons in Africa

o To create an enabling environment, for networking among youth-led and youth-focused Organisations.

Activities
Workshops Lectures Interactive Sessions
Sports Camp Fire Night Social Night
Picnic Evening Walk and lots more

o Campers are expected to come along with their beddings, Sports wares, cutleries and bathing materials.

Facilitators
Renowned speakers from all spheres of life will be on hand to deliver talks and papers.

Arrival / registration 10:00am – 8:00pm on Thursday 3rd August 2006
There are limited spaces for only 100 campers, so avail yourself and process your registration on time to avoid non-participation at this life changing event.

Yours truly,

Barrister Victor C. Oti McAnthony A. Anaelechukwu
Executive Director, MOPOTAC Organising Committee Chairman

t the
disease," Shekhawat said.
"If all sections of the society can be reached by YUVA, it will surely
make a massive difference," he said.
In the first leg of the campaign, a two-day conference began here on
Tuesday to discuss the implementation plan and strategy of YUVA.
The programme will be launched at the state, district and panchayat
levels in the second phase starting on August nine.
"Though we have more HIV infected patients than any other country,
still 99 per cent of Indians are HIV free. This gives us hope about the
future,"
Union Youth Affairs, Sports and Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar
Aiyar said.
An interactive series of quiz shows on AIDS, which will be shown on
te levision, along with internet and print versions, has also been started
as a part of the programme.

of putting life before intellectual property rights through access to generic drugs.

Paragraph 26 reads: “(Therefore, we) commit to address the rising rates of HIV infection among young people to ensure an HIV-free future generation through the implementation of comprehensive, evidence-based prevention strategies, responsible sexual behaviours, including the use of condoms, evidence-and skills-based, youth specific HIV education, mass media interventions, and the provision of youth friendly health services.”

Though it fails to mention comprehensive sexuality education, which would have undoubtedly been preferable to “youth specific HIV education,” this paragraph at least allows civil society and non-state actors to push national governments as close to full accountability as possible.

On a less positive note, the declaration fails to make explicit mention of specific at-risk communities, including Men who have Sex with Men (MSM), preferring to use the politically ambiguous term “vulnerable groups.” It also makes mention of “cultural values” in a warping of their original use, in order to allow particular regimes to continue to ignore and repress groups based on ideology, rather than public health or human rights. The declaration does not commit states to reaching the necessary goal of $23 billion USD by 2010, merely calling for signed states to “ensure that new and additional resources are made available.” Finally, the document does not make mention of universal access, a visionary step pushed by the UN si nce 2001 which is deserving of full political support.

Despite these setbacks, and make no mistake, these are definite setbacks whose exclusion will certainly hinder a truly effective response to global AIDS, I have been filled with a sense of optimism that Harriet, the middle-aged fabric designer I met at a diner across from the UN, considers simply youthful naiveté.

It is an optimism that I derived in-part after speaking to a young HIV-positive homosexual man from the South Bronx who got arrested inside the US Mission through an act of courageous civil disobedience, when he told me: “Now I know…I have the right to do this, and I can do this.”

It is an optimism borne from observing and participating in a number of spectacularly intens e and provocative meetings of civil society: where immensely influential veteran activists—such as Eric Sawyer of Act Up and Asia Russell of Health GAP—teamed with a range of professionals from throughout the global south, to analyze, critique, and demand more from the bureaucratic process of disappointing compromise that the UN is renowned for, whilst equipped with nothing more than the weapons of tenaciousness, outrage, and moral agency.

An optimism that witnessed fellow youth advocates take media center stage with grace and aplomb, be they Deidre of Memphis, Tennessee on CNN International, or Nino Susanto of Jogyakarta, Indonesia on BBC World, entering the stage of public affairs with a vigor and intelligence that our generation may possess in abundance, but which th e world continually fails to fully utilize.

HIV/AIDS is a treacherous, venomous disease, a devastatingly dark pestilence whose life-stealing enormity far outweighs that of any other phenomenon, natural or man-made, in human history. There are numerous countries, some within Sub-Saharan Africa, in which it has already reconfigured and ravaged the natural cycle of our species—robbing societies of an entire generation of young leaders and breadwinners. If HIV is to destroy us in such a way, reversing many centuries of progress in global prosperity, longevity of life, and the struggle for social justice: it will not be because of the superior biological nor mutational ability of the disease itself. It is well-known that we have effective antiretroviral therapy which allows fo r the prolonged, healthy life of people living with HIV/AIDS, and that such drugs can be produced for less than a dollar a day. In similar fashion, progress in the development of preventive microbicides, which are critical to the empowerment of women and girls, more potent treatments, and ultimately, a permanent cure, is well within the reach of modern medicine as well as society’s final realization of health as a human right.

No, humankind shall not be defeated by the HIV virus, but only by humankind ourselves. If we allow the unfettered greed of the pharmaceutical industry, which spends less on research than it does on advertising, whilst profiting in far greater excess than both combined; or the hateful ideology of discrimination due to sexual orientation, race, or cla ss to persist in modern society; or the myopic trappings of political relations, mainstream apathy, and inexcusable inaction to come between humankind and the conquest of its greatest challenge to date, than it shall be a hellish self-fulfilling descent upon which humanity is tumbling.

I firmly believe that this shall not be the case.

I believe that my generation, in partnership with and in the spirit of past social movements that have come before us, shall not allow a mere lack of political will to defeat us. Over the past week, I have been blessed to partake in a bounty of inspiration and action, as youth summit members rallied their national delegations, excelled on official panels, and led the shouts of protest from within the very heart of the United Na tions, the General Assembly Hall. This group of individuals: women and men; lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, still deciding, and straight; Southern and Northern, short and tall; empowered and impatient, will wait no longer for their leaders to take decisive action to prevent new infections and provide access to treatment immediately.

We are Kuntal Krishna of India, who moved Mrs. Annan to visible effect when sharing the story of a 15-year-old HIV victim from his home, whom asked him to the Secretary-General’s wife with a painting of her deceased relatives. We are Keesha Effs of Jamaica, whose blistering presentation on the feminization of HIV shook UN delegates into congratulatory reverie. And we are Naina Dhingra of the United States, whose unyielding strength of cha racter and mastery of the political process provides young people with a true leader at the highest levels of administration. As Incia Khan, a Pakistani-Canadian coordinator for the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS so eloquently stated: “We must be the generation of change.”

Jan Eliasson, President of the UN General Assembly, issued the following call to all signatory states during the closing remarks of this week’s meeting: “Take this Declaration, and take the new spirit and understanding of these three days, back to your countries, and implement it.”

It is up to us to make sure that they do just that.

testing and no father known.

We are consulting to introduce alongside the legal issues of access to care, that the consious refussal to use ante-natal thus, the infection of mother to child with HIV/AIDS should be a punishable offence in our law! what do you all think.....i am still thinking....

testing and no father known.

We are consulting to introduce alongside the legal issues of access to care, that the consious refussal to use ante-natal thus, the infection of mother to child with HIV/AIDS should be a punishable offence in our law! what do you all think.....i am still thinking....

t transfer and growth, et cetera...i will go at this point to my thinking closet!