It is a fact that more than half of today’s new HIV infections occur among young people. More than two decades after the report of the world’s first case of AIDS, youths remain uninformed about their own sexuality, not to mention about sexually transmitted diseases. Although they know or are of somewhat aware about AIDS, they do not believe they are actually at risk.

How can we contribute to the inclusion of young people in the AIDS debate and make them more aware that they share the responsibility for curbing the impact of this epidemic?

This publication is the result of the project funded by the UNAIDS Young People Commitment and Co-Responsibility in Preventing the Spread of HIV/AIDS. The primary objective was to include the perceptions of youth in the formulation and implementation of HIV/AIDS policies, thereby enhancing the involvement of youths in the containment of the epidemic.

This initiative gathered seven youths from civil society organizations of different Brazilian geographic regions and social contexts. Over a period of two years, they discussed their perceptions on relevant issues regarding the epidemic. Subjects in the discussions included youth leadership, sexuality, education, drugs, the public health system, AIDS at school, AIDS in the workplace and others. It is important to note that the Youth WG, the first of its kind in Latin America, was based on initiatives that seek the development of life skills among Brazilian youth.

This publication is thus intended to raise awareness by promoting strategies to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, taking into account the participation of youth in the policy-making process and the implementation of preventive efforts.

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FOREWORD

HIV has brought up, in a particular manner, the need to “untie a knot.” This knot represents the challenge to the collective health and education policies worldwide and the questions posed by such a challenge: How does one go about changing the behaviors of individuals when those behaviors are linked to affection; when they take place within the private lives of couples and are rooted in social-cultural aspects?

Furthermore, how does one involve youth in the process of changing their behavioral, affective and cognitive paradigms? Understanding the sexual behavior of young people and working with this population in the era of AIDS has become a priority in Brazil’s strategy for combating the emergence of this national epidemic.

This publication contains the conclusions of a project known as Young People Commitment and Co-Responsibility in Preventing the Spread of HIV/AIDS, or the UNAIDS Youth Working Group (Youth WG). This project was conducted with the resources of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and its main goal was to promote the inclusion of a youth perception in the formulation and execution of HIV/AIDS-related policies. The United Nations Education Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and UNAIDS endeavoring to strengthen youth participation and stimulate techniques for the prevention of HIV/AIDS and drug abuse among Brazilian youth. This effort reinforces the essential role that youth must play in formulating the preventive efforts and policies to be adopted by Brazilian public authorities, civil society organizations and the private sector.

Seven youths coming from civil society organizations and appointed by the Brazilian UNAIDS Thematic Working Group assembled in five meetings from 2000 to 2002 to discuss issues relevant to the epidemic.

Debates centered on such topics as youth participation, sexuality, drugs, AIDS at work, young HIV carriers, public healthcare services and AIDS in the school context, among others. The regional, social and cultural factors identified in these young people thus imbued the Youth WG with the necessary diversity to reinforce preventive education efforts in the context of peer groups led by young people in various areas of the country.

The fact that we are dealing with such delicate areas such as STD/ AIDS and drug-abuse prevention, especially from a youth perspective, makes the implementation of this project even more significant. While the implementation of policies based upon the decentralization principles advocated by the Brazilian Government represents a unique opportunity to develop potentials, augment capabilities and combine efforts in such crucial areas as health and education, it also represents a formidable challenge for Brazil, a country of continental dimensions and dramatic regional differences.

It is important to point out that the development of the UNAIDS Youth WG—the first among Latin American countries—was based on initiatives designed to promote the ability of young people to reduce the risk of HIV infection while taking into account the psychological, social, cultural and cognitive aspects. The exploration of these themes is highly relevant to the establishment of new initiatives that promote youth participation, behavioral changes, citizenship and solidarity. We have no doubt that through this act, UNESCO and UNAIDS are contributing toward the formulation of public policies that reserve a special place for young people in the augmentation and delivery of educational and health care public services, as well as in the services provided by the organized civil society.

We are also convinced that the publication of this book represents a step forward in broadening our knowledge of the epidemic in Brazil through a youth perspective, providing the necessary elements for public debate and effective action in regard to the relevant issue.

Jorge Werthein
UNESCO Director in Brazil
Rosemary Barber-Madden
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Representative in Brazil
President of the UNAIDS Thematic Working Group in Brazil

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