Every year, more than one billion children – or half of the world’s children – experience some form of violence. Exposure to violence compromises a child’s mental and social development, hampers educational outcomes, and reduces opportunities for gainful employment. It is estimated that physical, sexual, and emotional violence against children costs societies 3% to 8% of global GDP.
2013 had seen many of Youth LEADers actively advocating for human rights, and needs in various forums, and platforms. Youth LEAD became the first youth organization to co-chair the Asia Pacific Interagency Task Team (IATT) on Young Key Populations along with UNAIDS n 2013. The IATT was fundamental in supporting development of the New Gen Asia Initiatives and a significant avenue to universalize the issue of YKP in Asia and the Pacific.
In 2014, Youth LEAD strengthened YKP advocacy on major issues including: legal barriers, the National Strategic Plan, Policies and Guidelines on the HIV Response, the Global Fund funding model, sexual and reproductive health and rights, the Post 2015 development goals, as well as youth friendly testing and treatment at national levels.
In 2015, Youth LEAD as a advocacy- oriented youth-led regional network facilitated a series of capacity building activities in several counties. Take the New Gen training as an example; in 2015, the trainings continued to rollout in Cambodia, Mongolia, and the Philippines with hundreds of young key populations from grassroots movements being invited to learn and partake in these sessions.
2016 is the first year of Youth LEAD to implement its Strategic Planning (2016-2018) and the first year of the Sustainable Development Goal. As expected the shifting funding landscape on HIV was felt distinctly and it has brought both challenges and opportunities to Youth LEAD. Reflecting back, Youth LEAD’s efforts accomplishments and challenges.
In 2016, Youth LEAD’s Strategic Plan for 2016-2018 commenced. 2017 was a year filled with achievements that aimed to target the five strategic
priorities for Youth LEAD. Each of these priorities focuses on the needs of adolescent key populations (AKPs) and YKPs in the Asia-Pacific Region.
In 2018, Youth LEAD conducted many new projects and activities, which will be implemented in partnership with both global and regional networks. For instance, the regional consortium for the Robert Carr Fund grant turned into a global consortium, thereby opening doors and opportunities for collaboration.
2020 has been an unprecedented year for all Youth LEADers to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing HIV epidemic. During this challenging time, young key population-led organizations in the Asia-Pacific have shown resilience to support communities. They have been at the forefront of the HIV response to implement innovative solutions that ensure the continuity of HIV services.
The annual report provides a glimpse into some of the key activities and projects and highlights Youth LEAD’s contribution to the regional HIV response. The annual report also explores how Youth LEAD’s efforts align with other global strategies, but more importantly, how the activities align with Youth LEAD’s strategic priorities.
This report describes the HIV epidemic among young people from key populations in the region, takes stock of HIV programmes for such people, and pinpoints the priority actions that will speed up progress towards ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat in the region.
