The Menace

HIV/AIDS is a preventable and treatable disease. Yet today, 6,800 people will be infected with HIV. Of the 2.5 million people infected yearly, young people account for 40 percent of new infections. Poverty, unemployment, a lack of education, sexual violence and gender inequality increase the vulnerability of young people to HIV infection.11.4 million children and adolescents have been orphaned by AIDS and are now heads of households, as we lose an entire generation of parents, teachers, workers and doctors in many regions.

Although world leaders committed that by 2005, 90% of young people would know how to protect themselves from infection, currently in the hardest hit countries, less than half of youth can correctly identify modes of HIV transmission.

Despite the debilitating effects of AIDS, young leaders are taking action in their communities to prevent the spread of the disease and to address the devastating consequences of the pandemic. In fact, evidence shows that young people are most effective at changing the risk behaviors of their peers and at shaping a better future for themselves and their families.