The Challenge
Young people are the segment of the population most affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and they remain highly vulnerable to its transmission and resulting impact. Every day, an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 young people between the ages of 15-24 years old become infected with the virus. Globally, it is estimated that there are over 10 million young people living with HIV, 63% of whom live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Young women, ages 15-24, are more likely than young men to be HIV positive.

Despite the heavy burden of the disease being carried by those living in this region, knowledge about HIV transmission is still low, with women generally less well-informed than men. According to UNAIDS reports, prevention programs currently reach only one in five who need them. Without significantly greater coverage from effective prevention programs, the global fight against HIV/AIDS will be lost. In this context, young people offer the greatest opportunity to defeat the disease. Reaching youth with strategies and interventions that enable them to remain free of HIV infection is critical to winning the fight against the pandemic.

The Initiative
The overall goal of the Empowering Africa’s Young People Initiative (EAYPI) is to scale up evidence-based programs that promote healthy behaviors in order to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among youth, ages 10 to 25 in Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Over a five-year period, the project aims to reach over 500,000 youth and 200,000 adults, through support from a US$8.5 million grant from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

The strategic objectives of the project are to:

• Scale up skills-based HIV prevention education, especially for younger youth and girls
• Stimulate broad-based community discourse on healthy norms and risky behaviors
• Reinforce the role of parents and other influential leaders
• Reduce incidents of sexual coercion and exploitation of young people

IYF supports 16 local implementing organizations through a combination of sub-grants and technical assistance delivered through on-site mentoring of technical personnel, workshops, seminars, and technical guidelines.

Expected outcomes
The Initiative’s impact on youth will measure:

• Accuracy of knowledge of primary prevention methods (abstinence, fidelity, partner reduction, etc.) among project participants
• Increase in percentage of youth who have appropriate self-perceptions of risk
• Increase in percentage of youth who are confident that they can implement safer sexual practices such as abstinence until marriage, as well as practice fidelity and partner reduction
• Increase in number of youth, ages 18-24, seeking youth-friendly clinical services in voluntary testing and counseling

Results to date
As of November 2006, a total of 1,221 individuals have been trained to provide basic information on HIV/AIDS prevention programs and to promote behavior change that will reduce risky behavior related to HIV/AIDS transmission. In addition, the program reached 23,925 unique individuals (youth, parents and leaders in the community) with HIV/AIDS prevention messages.

Other accomplishments include:

• Technical assistance in proposal and budget development provided to 16 sub-grantees, including one-on-one meetings with technical staff, mentoring and coaching to strengthen initial proposals. Qualitative assessments and documentation of affiliates’ assets in curricula, training materials, trainers and youth networks have been made.
• Successful outreach activities through a variety of approaches that involve one-to-one communications and groups (clubs, sports teams, schools and youth gatherings) as well as music, dance and drama outreaches and community meetings coordinated by the grantees. One noted outreach activity was the 2006 World AIDS Day event in Tanzania where IYF coordinated the event in Dar es Salaam along with a youth committee comprised of peer educators from each of our partner organizations. The featured guest of honor at this event was Edward N. Lowassa, the Prime Minister of Tanzania.
• Each country has developed a Peer Educator’s Curricula which includes topics on: the definition and roles of peer education, adolescent changes, gender and stereotyping, life skills, values, what abstinence means, risks of unprotected sex, saying no to sex outside of marriage, faithfulness in marriage, STI/HIV/AIDS, stigma and discrimination, sexual violence and referrals, cross-generational sex, VCT etc.
• In partnership with Population Services International (PSI), IYF conducted workshops in the three countries to train trainers on Parent-to- Child Communication skills.
• Establishment of IYF field offices in Kampala, Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Each office has a Project Director, a Program Officer and a Finance/Administrative Officer who work closely with the affiliates in implementing the program.

Partnerships
Donors: The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), administered through USAID.
Implementing Partners: EAYPI was originally co-created by an alliance of seven global youth organizations: Red Cross, Girl Guides, Scouts, YMCA, YWCA, Award International Association, and kuleana Centre for Children’s Rights. IYF is currently managing the implementation of EAYPI, and serves as its Secretariat.

The 16 implementing organizations are:

TANZANIA: Tanzania Red Cross Society, Tanzania Girl Guides Association, Tanzania Scouts Association, Tanzania YWCA, Tanzania YMCA and kuleana Centre for Children’s Rights
UGANDA: Uganda Red Cross Society, Uganda Girl Guides Association, Uganda Scouts Association, Uganda YWCA and Source of the Nile Award Program
ZAMBIA: Zambia Red Cross Society, Zambia Girl Guides Association, Zambia Scouts Association, Zambia YWCA and the Zambia YMCA

To learn more about IYF's Health Education initiatives click here.