Youth Zone

Peer education plays an important part in PYP, we are therefore encouraging young people who can spread positive messages to other young people through music, story telling, poetry or videos  to submit their work. We would also like young people that have been affected by any issues such as drugs, alcohol, HIV and AIDS, guns and knives, bullying to share their experiences.

World AIDS Day 2011

World AIDS Day this year is about ‘GETTING TO ZERO’, i.e.  Zero New HIV Infections, Zero Discrimination and Zero AIDS Related Deaths.

Throughout this week, our Positive Youths will be celebrating this year’s World AIDS Day’s theme of GETTING TO ZERO! Various activities have been lined up in the lead up to international commemorations on the 1st of December. 

More than 90,000 people are currently living with HIV in the UK and globally an estimated 33.3 million people have HIV. More than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007 have died from the virus, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.

Today, many scientific advances have been made in HIV treatment,  there are laws to protect people living with HIV and we understand so  much more about the condition. But despite this, people do not know  the facts about how to protect themselves and others from HIV, and  stigma and discrimination remain a reality for many people living  with HIV. World AIDS Day is important as it reminds the public and  Government that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to  raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve  education.

World AIDS Day is an opportunity for you to learn the facts about HIV  and put your knowledge into  action. If you understand how HIV is transmitted, how it can be  prevented, and the reality of living  with HIV today – you can use this knowledge to take care of your  own health and the health of others,  and ensure you treat everyone living with HIV fairly, and with  respect and understanding. 

You can also show your support for people living with HIV on World AIDS Day by wearing a red ribbon, the international symbol of HIV awareness.

Backed by the United Nations, the “Getting to Zero” campaign runs until2015 and builds on last year’s successful World AIDS Day “Light for Rights” initiative encompassing a range of vital issues identified by key affected populations. It’s time to use our imaginations and let everyone know Getting to Zero is  a must. The global HIV response is at a pivotal moment, where  huge strides forward are at serious risk and current approaches  are reaching their limits. Only one third of the 15 million people  living with HIV in need of life long treatment are receiving it. New  infections continue to outpace the number of people starting  treatment, while the upward trend in resources suffered a serious  downturn this year.

“Zero New HIV Infections” and “Zero Discrimination”  are equally as likely to spark high impact events from small scale community vigils  to nationwide events using the universally recognised shape of zeros and the power  of light to get life and death issues the attention they deserve.

From December 1st 2011 right up until 2015 it’s envisioned  that different regions and groups will each year chose one or  all of the Zeros that best addresses their situation.

The UNAIDS strategy aims to advance global progress in achieving country set targets for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support and to halt and reverse the spread of HIV and contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development goals by 2015.

Adopted by the Programme Coordinating Board in December 2010, the strategy works to position the HIV response in the new global environment. The AIDS response is a long term investment and the intent of the strategy is to revolutionize HIV prevention, catalyse the next phase of treatment, care and support, and advance human rights and gender equality.

UNAIDS strategy goals by 2015:

• Sexual transmission of HIV reduced by half, including among young people, men who have sex with men and transmission in the context of sex work
• Vertical transmission of HIV eliminated, and AIDS-related maternal mortality reduced by half
• All new HIV infections prevented among people who use drugs
• Universal access to antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV who are eligible for treatment
• TB deaths among people living with HIV reduced by half
• People living with HIV and households affected by HIV are addressed in all national social protection strategies and have access to essential care and support
• Countries with punitive laws and practices around HIV transmission, sex work, drug use or homosexuality that block effective responses reduced by half
• HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay and residence eliminated in half of the countries that have such restrictions
• HIV-specific needs of women and girls are addressed in at least half of all national HIV responses
• Zero tolerance for gender-based violence

The UNAIDS strategy is a roadmap for the Joint Programme with concrete goals marking milestones on the path to achieving UNAIDS’ vision of “Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.”

The strategy will be underpinned by a new Unified budget and accountability framework. The framework will operationalize the strategy, mobilize and allocate resources for its implementation, measure progress and report on results.