About the Project
Young people are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic, with about 40 percent of new infection worldwide occurring among youth aged 15-24. The Declaration of Commitment to HIV/AIDS recognised the specific vulnerability of young people to HIV, and made several promises in regard to youth.  Governments should be held accountable for these and other commitments made to young people, and young people must remain a priority in the response. Furthermore, whilst young people remain at the centre of the epidemic in terms of infection, vulnerability and impact, they also embody the greatest potential for change.  Meaningful participation of young people in all areas and levels of the response must therefore be encouraged and supported.

In late 2009, AAI initiated the AIDS Accountability Youth Initiative (AAYI) based on recommendations from the Expert Panel and Forum.  The overall aims of the initiative are to:

1) increase the capacity of young people to hold their leaders accountable by:
- developing advocacy tools that can be used for holding governments and other key stakeholders accountable for their commitments to youth in the context of HIV/AIDS
- improving the monitoring and evaluation capacity of the youth community

2) To develop an element on youth reporting in the 2011 AIDS Accountability Country Scorecard including an analysis of:
-the completeness and quality of country reporting on youth indicators
-the relevance of the current youth indicators in the UNAIDS Monitoring system

The development team currently consists of the following members:
Ricardo Baruch, Youth Coalition, Mexico
Marte Bøe Wensaas, HIV and AIDS and Global Health Initiatives, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway
Caitlin Chandler, HIV Young Leaders Fund, USA
Anita Krug, AIDS Accountability International & Youth R.I.S.E., Sweden
Johanna Löfgren, AIDS Accountability International, Sweden
Dave Ryan, Global Health Corps, USA
Ajay Uprety, Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Nepal

What is the AIDS Accountability Youth Initiative?
Initial consultations have identified several priority areas for our work on increasing accountability for youth.  Following is a summary of activities prioritized by the AAYI:

a)    Advocacy tools using available youth-specific data:
The most obvious source of global information on youth specific HIV/AIDS indicators is the UNAIDS monitoring of the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS (DoC).  Other data sets related to youth and HIV/AIDS that exist will also be considered by the AAYI. Available data sets will be analysed and developed into advocacy tools for use by young people, and those working to increase accountability for young people.

b)   Donor accountability advocacy tools:
There is a need for stronger financial commitment to youth-led initiatives active in the HIV/AIDS field.  AAYI aims to strengthen donor commitment by developing advocacy tools that target donor accountability.

c) Capacity building/ technical guidance for youths wanting to produce shadow reports and conduct monitoring and evaluation research

Shadow reporting and monitoring and evaluation research is important for understanding the situation and needs of young people living with, or at risk of acquiring HIV, and valuable for establishing whether governments are meeting their commitments.  AAYI aims to increase the capacity of young people working in HIV/AIDS field to engage in shadow reporting and monitoring and evaluation research to ensure they are able to participate at all levels of the response, and improve their ability to hold their national leaders and the international community accountable for their response to young people.

Get involved
- Be informed of developments
- Join expert dialogues during the development phase
- Fund, endorse or support the initiative

Please contact Anita Krug at:anita@aidsaccountability.org or Johanna Löfgren at:Johanna@aidsaccountability.org