April 24, 2009
AIDS Alliance Recognizes Global Youth Service Day
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Urges Youth to Get Tested for HIV and other STDs
Washington, D.C.- In recognition of the 20th Annual Global Youth Service Day to be held April 24-26, 2009, AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth & Families is encouraging youth to do both themselves and their communities a service by getting tested for HIV and other potentially harmful STDs.
Global Youth Service Day, coordinated by Youth Service America, is an international event aimed at mobilizing youth to address issues specifically pertaining to their communities and ignite community activism. The service activities cover a wide range of concerns, including poverty, access to healthcare and HIV/AIDS.
HIV is increasingly impacting the lives of thousands of youth domestically and globally. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2004, “An estimated 4,883 young people received a diagnosis of HIV infection or AIDS, representing about 13% of the persons given a diagnosis during that year.” In addition, the CDC also reports that in 2004, “An estimated 7,761 young people were living with AIDS, a 42% increase since 2000, when 5,457 young people were living with AIDS.”
Lack of awareness about HIV, due to incomplete sexuality education or misrepresented information are main contributors to the spread of HIV infections among youth, especially within minority and impoverished populations.
“AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth and Families is strongly committed to working within the youth community to reduce the incidence of HIV, specifically within higher risk populations, such as Latinas and African American women and girls,” said Alelia Munroe, Board President. “AIDS Alliance encourages the participation in awareness efforts such as Global Youth Service Day to further our collective commitment to one day living in a world without AIDS.”
As a part of this pledge, AIDS Alliance facilitates several programs to address AIDS in populations most affected, focusing specifically on women and youth. Funded by a cooperative agreement with the Division of Adolescent and School Health of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Girls 4 HOPE (Health, Opportunity, Prevention and Education) program, AIDS Alliance works toward increasing the capacity of community-based organizations to initiate and improve the delivery, effectiveness, and sustainability of culturally and linguistically- relevant HIV prevention programs for female African American and Latina youth, aged 13-18 and their families.
AIDS Alliance, along with other partners of the NIAID HIV Vaccine Research Education Initiative (NHVREI), educates youth about the importance of HIV vaccine research and encourages participation in clinical trials by people of all ages, races and ethnicities, genders and socioeconomic backgrounds. Involvement by the populations most highly affected is critical to the success of the endeavor. (For more information visit: www.bethegeneration.nih.gov ).
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Founded in 1994, AACYF is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to advance the partnership between consumers and providers – we are the voice of women, children, youth and families living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. AACYF works to enhance and expand access to quality, comprehensive, family-centered care to America’s children, youth and families affected by HIV/AIDS, as it represents the nation’s network of over 650 Ryan White Part D funded community-based organizations. Part D programs serve over 53,000 HIV-affected women, children, youth and families through sites located in 35 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
