Stakeholders: Why Not Commit to Young People?
By Abbey, August 6, 2008
Posted on RH Reality Check
Abbey is a member of the International Youth Leadership Council . She writes from the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, Mexico.
Young people account for 40 percent of new HIV infections around the world, yet most of the policy surrounding prevention of the disease ignores youth (ages 15-24). Building on their previous success, the Mexico 2008 YouthForce decided to continue this dialogue with a commitments desk.
Some commitments to date include pledges to make youth sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services more youth-friendly; to create leadership positions for young people, and to start an SRHR campaign for young women.
On Monday morning, the Mayor of Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón, stopped by. We were also excited when Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations, visited the Youth Pavilion to address young people on his work with HIV/AIDS. He spoke briefly to a strictly screened audience (no one over 29 years old). He emphasized the problems of stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV and AIDS, but failed to take advantage of the opportunity to make a commitment to youth.
As a member of YouthForce, I was disappointed that Ban Ki-Moon did not provide us with the respect of acknowledging our rights. Furthermore, he failed to make a pledge at the commitments desk. The commitments desk was created to help decision-makers commit to youth. Why is it so difficult for many leaders do so?
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