UNODC participates in the VI National Meeting of Adolescents and Young People Living with HIV / AIDS in Brasilia

Thábata

Thábata Lorena sings during the opening of the event

Brasilia, 25 July 2013 - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was present at the VI National Meeting of Adolescents and Young People Living with HIV/AIDS (VI ENAJHVA), held in Brasilia in July 11 to 13. The event is a space for dialogue, exchange and evaluation of experiences among young people living with HIV.

UNODC, represented by the health program assistant Pollyanna Alves, participated in a debate on the progress and challenges of youth with AIDS in educational institutions. She explained the importance of the role of the UNODC Liaison and Partnership Office in Brazil in discussions and programs in this area, reported the actions that UNODC has been carrying out with the help of its partners in the country and highlighted the importance of programs such as Youth of Expression, which aims to reduce the vulnerability of young people to violence, AIDS, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and support entrepreneurship. "The importance of this meeting is discussing with key stakeholders the reality of adolescents and youth living with HIV / AIDS, and seeking not only in schools, but in society as a whole, a place with less stigma and more welcoming."

Besides Pollyanna, a representative of Health and Prevention in Schools Project (SPE), Luciana Garritano Barone, and two young people who are part of the National Network of Adolescents and Young People Living with HIV/AIDS (RNAJVHA) took part in the debate. Luciana brought some data on schools participating in the project which replied correctly to the 'Health Booklet' in 2012.

122,434 forms were validated forms from a total of 192,676 participating schools. Among these schools, 60,772 discussed topics related to STD/AIDS in class (52.2% of the total), 74,186 on alcohol and other drugs (64.1%), 42,248 about sexual diversity (36.5%) and 54,747 about teen pregnancy (48.8%). However, among the schools that had put on their agenda the sexuality issue, only 7.9% had some system of distribution of condoms.

Youth of Expression

The agent of Youth of Expression Program and artist Thábata Lorena sang two traditional Brazilian songs during the opening of the event. The agents are youth from the cities of Ceilândia and Sobradinho II selected to be local multipliers of the program, taking actions against violence and premature mortality to their communities.

This year, they are developing actions focused on HIV/AIDS prevention and went to the meeting to learn more about the reality of the youth living with HIV/AIDS a think together on effective strategies to deal with this issue among the youth.

The Youth of Expression Program is carried out by Caixa Seguros Group, in partnership with UNODC, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO in Brazil) and the Central Única das Favelas (Cufa/DF).

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