The iYAN is a monthly newsletter by and for young people in low and middle-income countries working on issues around youth reproductive health. Read the current edition of the iYAN newsletter below. Or read the Archives. Sign up to receive the iYAN here!

Advocates’ International Youth Activist Network (iYAN) consists of youth activists and adult allies from low and middle-income countries who are working to influence policies and programs in their countries and internationally to support improved youth reproductive and sexual health. Members of the iYAN connect to share information about their work; are provided information about scholarships and networking opportunities; get up-to-date information on downloadable advocacy materials and tool kits; and receive a monthly newsletter with information on advocacy, youth activism, and mobilization on important issues like sex education, access to contraception, and prevention of adolescent maternal mortality and HIV.

Sharing Our Passion 

A Commitment for Life
By Ephrem, Managing Director of TaYA, Ethiopia

My name is Ephrem Berhanu and I am 29 years old. I am the Co-Founder and Managing Director of a youth-led NGO, Talent Youth Association (TaYA). TaYA is one of the largest youth-led organizations in Ethiopia, where we engage in promoting young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Why am I involved in reproductive and sexual health rights?

Over ten years ago, I lost my father due to an AIDS-related illness. At the time, I was 18-years old and confused with the thought of losing him to AIDS, especially because most people in my country believed HIV/AIDS was acquired by “deviant” behaviors, like having sex with “other” women. These behaviors are not considered acceptable in my community. For me to accept this fact has been a challenge. Having seen the prevailing stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS, I have had a hard time accepting the fact that this could affect me and my family. I’ve witnessed how painful the illness is. I’ve experienced psychological trauma along with it. My father was well educated; he had a decent job and we lived a happy life. He could afford to pay for medical services, which are unthinkable to many of the AIDS patients in Ethiopia. After he passed away, life was not as easy as it was before. My mother had a job in the government office, but her income was not sufficient to support the family of four. For this reason, we were obliged to rent our house and live in a smaller one. 



My father’s life gave me the courage to do something and devote my life to reducing new HIV infections in my community and among my peers. When I was at the university, my friends and I came together to discuss how to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Through time, Talent Youth Association (TaYA) developed into an established non-governmental organization (NGO) in the year 2003. By that time, the low-level of awareness among young people was the main cause for new HIV infections. Now, it is because young people are not informed of the necessary skills to reduce risk behaviors. TaYA has contributed significantly in passing out information to most young people who are living in rural areas. Eighty-five percent of the Ethiopian population resides in rural areas, where access to HIV/AIDS information is far out of reach. Today, thanks to technology, antiretroviral (ARV) drugs are saving the lives of many and the destruction of many more families has been prevented, because people are now able to live a healthy life with HIV. Since the advancement of ARVs, I realized that governments needed to act responsibly in order to curb the scourge of HIV/AIDS. Had it been that the government gave the proper attention fifteen years earlier-- my father may have still been alive today. I’m very happy with what I’m doing now. We, at TaYA, have undertaken various fruitful projects and we are changing lives. I will continue to work, until I see that HIV/AIDS is no longer a problem.

To read more about Ephrem’s work in Ethiopia, click here: 

To visit the website of Talent Youth Association, click here: 


National Youth Policy and African Youth Charter: The Agenda for Liberia’s Sustainability
By Alphonso, Executive Director of YOUTH FOR COMMUNITY ACADEMIC AND DEVELOPMENTSERVICES (YOCADS), Liberia

The observance of International Youth Day on August 12, 2009, brought together members of civil society organizations including youth, students, women’s groups, key actors in government, development partners, the media, and ordinary Liberians.

The Day was celebrated under the theme: “Sustainability: our Challenge. Our Future,” with reference on the popularization of the African Youth Charter.” The event took place at the G.W. Gibson High School auditorium on the Capital pass-bye, in Monrovia on August 12, 2009, at 10:00am local time.

International Youth Day was organized as a civil society-public forum with speakers from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), parliament, and representatives of the Youth and Sports Ministry. Participants at the forum had opportunities to interact with speakers on a number of issues including the 1998 United Nations General Assembly and Resolution 54/120 (a resolution in support of youth development and involvement); the ratification of the African Youth Charter; the enactment of the National Youth Policy; and other important issues that affect young people in general.

The 19th president of Liberia, William Richard Tolbert, remarked that the youth are the “precious jewels” of the nation. He further said that youth are the indispensable asset of any nation or the index finger pointing to the future progress and continuity of the state. If their growth and development process is inhibited, it reflects the malaise of that nation. In this light, a coherent approach to youth issues should be a priority, because they are the ones who feel alienated, frustrated and most vulnerable. This is why YOCADS organized a CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM in commemoration of the International Youth Day on August 12, 2009, to further discuss what has been done to implement the World Program of Action for Youth; how far Liberia is to ratifying the African Youth Charter; and if/how the government has taken steps to enact the National Youth Policy into law.

The occasion started with an overview of International Youth Day with YOCADS Gender officer, Barbara L. Ketter, followed by a civil society representative, Mr. Kerian Pelenah, who served as the primary speaker. In his presentation, Mr. Pelenah stressed that all African countries that have ratified the African Youth Charter must apply it at the national level. They must ensure that key elements of the Charter are incorporated into domestic laws and national youth policy.

Secondly, he said that there is a need to put in place a workable mechanism to effectively monitor African governments’ compliance with the provisions of the African Youth Charter. He further said that these are the obvious ways by which we can sustain the charter and ease the challenges of the inter-generational transitions upon which the perpetual sustainable development of the African continent so depend.

Finally, Ketter told participants that only 15 states (countries) are needed to ratify the Charter before it can come into force; how it is sad to note that only 13 countries have ratified the African Youth Charter (a fact which in his words, “is a disservice to African youth”); and that this must change. In addition, he noted that young people have to engage in sustained advocacy, civic education, and extensive lobbying in order to popularize and sustain the charter.

Next, Mr. Austin Waylee, the special assistant to Representative Kai G. Farley (Chairman on Youth and Sports at the House of Parliament), disclosed that they are trying to address the needs of young people by instituting budgetary allocations for youth initiatives throughout the country. He also said that youth should see themselves as leaders and that they should take the challenge now to track the opportunities that have been provided by government and development partners that offer a better future for youth. He finally said that the policymakers are not afraid to pass or enact the National Youth Policy or to ratify the African Youth Charter, but it is a matter of persistently lobbying them to ensure that the youth commitments are taken to action.


Achievements of Youth Mobilization and Advocacy in Jamaica 

The Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN) is a youth-led initiative that works to develop youth leaders in advocacy, public education, and capacity building in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, violence prevention, care and protection (including persons with disabilities), employment and entrepreneurship, and education and training.

In line with JYAN’s vision of being the voice of youth promoting participation and demanding positive change in Jamaica, the network has successfully implemented programs and initiatives that are considered notable achievements. The Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN), within the 3 years of its existence has sought to:

1. Increase young people’s knowledge of development issues including health and education, national security and social protection, as well as policies that impact these issues. JYAN has successfully trained more than three hundred young people in youth advocacy, lobbying and representation from the Jamaican parishes of Kingston & St. Andrew, Westmoreland, St. James, St. Catherine, St. Ann, St. Mary and Clarendon.
2. Build young people’s capacity to participate in the policy formulation process and be a voice for youth. From our capacity-building trainings, many of the trainees have become trainers and are currently serving as youth educators, youth facilitators, advocates, and spokespersons on a number of issues related to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH), Crime and Violence, and Youth Advocacy and Participation. As a result of the training, the participants were able to facilitate the development of effective youth advocacy campaigns in Jamaica; empower and equip Jamaican youth with the skills necessary to participate in the decision making processes that impact them; and increase the participation of youth in the decision making processes of the society.
3. Create opportunities for youth participation in the political and social processes that enable the achievement of ICPD Actions, the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), and overall youth development. The Network hosted the first Youth Advocacy Conference in Jamaica, called “Yute X,” where approximately six hundred young people, NGOs, community based organizations, government bodies and officials were engaged in discussion on issues affecting youth across the Caribbean while identifying possible solutions to these issues.

The network has also provided effective youth participation on national bodies developed to foster change in SRH. These include:

1. Appointment of network members to serve on the Community Advisory Board (CAB) for a HIV vaccine trial in Jamaica.
2. Appointment of a Youth Representative at the Jamaica HIV and AIDS Civil Society Forum.
3. Jamaica HIV and AIDS Civil Society Forum nominee to the Jamaica Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism to be reconstituted in June 2009.
4. Member of the Inter-Ministerial Team (IMTY) on Youth (highest youth policy decision-making body in Jamaica).
5. Co-chair of the Health Multi-functional Team (MFT) that tracks the implementation of the National Youth Policy of Jamaica (MFTs are sub-committees to the IMTY).
6. Member of the Empowerment and Participation Multi-functional Team that tracking the implementation of the National Youth Policy of Jamaica

Since August 2006, the JYAN developed two behavior change communication projects tackling school-based gang-violence (Youth Help2) and the need for comprehensive sex-education (Sex Ed: Best Said) in High Schools. The Sex Ed: Best Said Project is now being sustained with support from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the National HIV/STI Program. Sex Ed: Best Said is one of the few curriculum-based sex education programs that embraces a youth-on-youth approach that ensures that young people are at the centre of the HIV/AIDS and overall sexual and reproductive health and rights agenda. Also, as a part of its Arts, Culture and Society Unit within the Advocacy Programs Department, the JYAN has formulated the Jamaica Youth Chorale (JYC) in an effort to utilize the arts as a tool for empowerment and facilitating change.

Other achievements include:

• Appointment of a JYAN Member to the National Youth Parliament Planning Committee.
• Appointment of a JYAN Member as GYCA's National Focal Point for Jamaica.
• Appointment of a JYAN member to the Public Education Working Group on Alternative Methods of Behaviour Modification, Ministry of Education.
• JYAN participation in eMentor, TakingITGlobal.org Make It Happen (MIH) Online Course (2008).
• JYAN presentation at the Youth Opportunities Unlimited Parenting Workshop (2008).
• JYAN presentation at Youth Opportunities Unlimited Healthy Minds - Healthy Deeds Workshop (2008)
• Appointment of a JYAN member as a Delegate at UNESCO Regional Meeting ‘Youth Networks & Policies’ (August 2008).
• Participation at the Ignite the Americas: Youth Policy Forum (2008).
• JYAN representation at the UNESCO Regional Meeting on Youth Networks and Policies (October 2008).
• Participation at the International AIDS Conference (2007 & 2008).
• JYAN representation at the UN High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS 2006).

 My Voice Counts! 

Mark Your Calendar: 4th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights!

Join more than 500 policymakers, activists and practitioners, including young persons, people living with HIV & AIDS, people living with disabilities, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Transgendered and Inquiring (GBQTI) persons from Africa and around the world to attend the 4th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights—held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from February 8-10, 2009. The 4th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights promises to be an important event for discussions on sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender and violence against women, HIV, poverty and reproductive health in African countries.

To learn more about the conference, check out the website here.

To learn about the call of abstracts, download this PDF here: 

The deadline to submit abstracts is October 19th!


Join the 15andCounting Campaign!

Governments across the globe have failed to deliver the promises they made fifteen years ago at the International Conference on Population and Development to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people, putting the lives and well-being of millions at risk.

The unacceptable facts:

• Complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death for young women ages 15-19 in low- and middle-income countries.
• Each day, some 500,000 young people, mostly young women, are infected with a sexually transmitted infection (excluding HIV).
• Young people ages 25 and under account for almost half of all new HIV infections worldwide.
• Only 17 per cent of sexually active young people worldwide use contraceptives
• There are 60 million child brides world-wide, increasing to 100 million within ten years.
• Two million girls experience female genital cutting each year.

Today, more than 200 million women do not have access to the modern contraceptives they desire.

The 15andCounting campaign, coordinated by the International Planned Parenthood Federation, is asking people all over the world to sign the “Count Me In: Sexual Rights for All” petition to demand better access to sexual health services and education for everyone. Advocacy resources are also available on the website in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic.

Organization: 15andCounting/International Planned Parenthood Federation

Contact: http://www.15andcounting.org/blog/?page_id=11

Sign the 15andCounting petition and support of sexual rights for all.


15andCounting advocacy brief

http://www.15andcounting.org/docs/PRINT6-15andCountingAdvocacy.pdf

This document describes how individuals and community groups can raise awareness about the 15andCounting campaign. The campaign focuses on meeting the youth-related goals of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. While it specifically focuses on the campaign, the document’s principles could be applied to other advocacy planning efforts for youth sexual and reproductive health and rights. Additional resources are available at http://www.15andcounting.org/blog/?page_id=7.


Don’t forget to sign the IPPF petition at www.15andcounting.org!


Simple and Easy: You can be an iYAN Writer!

Your voice is an essential part of what makes this newsletter a success. Please submit your stories to share with other youth activists from around the world!

Here is some information on submitting articles for the newsletter:

• Articles should be no more than 500 words.
• Language should be simple and easy for non-native English speakers to read.
• If you have a photo, would like us to include it with your article, and can send it via email, please do! It’s okay if you do not have a photo, but we would like to bring a face to your words when we have the chance.
• Advocates for Youth edits all published materials, so we will send you the revised draft for your approval before it is featured in the newsletter. We want to make sure that you are happy with the final product as well!
• When you submit an article, it may not appear right away in the next issue but we will be sure to include it in the next possible newsletter.
• Even if you’ve already submitted an article, you can still send others for upcoming issues of the newsletter.

What’s Going On at Advocates for Youth?

New Fact Sheet Released:

Adolescent Reproductive Health in Nigeria

One-third (36.5 million) of Nigeria's total population of 123 million are youth between the ages of 10 and 24. By 2025, the number of Nigerian youth will exceed 57 million.2 Lack of sexual health information and services places these young people at risk for pregnancy, abortion, sexually transmitted infections (STI), and HIV/AIDS. In addition, early marriage and childbearing limit youth's educational and employment opportunities. Yet, effective, innovative programs can provide youth with the sexual health information and services they need.

To read more of Advocates’ new fact sheet, click here:

To learn more about Advocates’ campaign in Nigeria with partner organization, Education as a Vaccine against AIDS (EVA), go to: http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/eva.


Advocates and International Partners Celebrate International Youth Day

The following activities were organized on International Youth Day:

In Jamaica, Jamaicans Safely Tackling Adolescent Reproductive Health (JSTAR), a council of youth advocates supported by the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN) in partnership with Advocates for Youth, organized a movie screening on the film, “Youth Producing Change,” in addition to a short clip from their own recently produced video documentary. The screening was followed by a discussion on youth leadership and ways to join the council’s campaign. Andrew Francis, founder of JYAN and Youth Coordinator of the HIV/AIDS program in the Ministry of Education, spoke at the event about youth leadership in the scope of adolescent reproductive and sexual health.

In Ethiopia, the Ethiopian youth Council for Higher Opportunities (ECHO), a group of youth advocates, supported by Talent Youth Association in partnership with Advocates for Youth, coordinated two activities: 1) an environmental initiative (in partnership with the government) to plant 220 seeds in an effort to rehabilitate the deforested areas of the country. The council mobilized 100 young people to participate in the planting of seeds around a school that is located in the center of Addis Ababa; 2) a half-day panel discussion focused on topics, including: the impact of environment and the contribution of youth towards its sustainability; reproductive health and HIV/AIDS and its impact on the lives of young people; and an analysis of the National Health Policy and the importance of building coalitions and networks, particularly with youth-led organizations. Over 350 young people participated in this discussion.

In Nigeria, Youth Advocates Group (YAG), a council of youth advocates supported by Education as a Vaccine against AIDS (EVA) in partnership with Advocates for Youth, focused on the media by writing op-eds to the local newspapers, scheduling interviews with radio and TV, and disseminating an opinion poll with questions focused on the perception of youth leadership in Nigeria. In addition, many of the council members blogged on Amplify to discuss sexual and reproductive health issues on International Youth Day.

Check out some blogs posted by members of YAG on Amplify:

International Youth Day: Little Fun Hurts

International Youth Day: The Choice is Ours

International Youth Day: Now is the Time


Obama Administration Proposes Ending Travel Ban 

By Brian Ackerman, Advocates’ International Policy Manager

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of the Obama Administration released a proposed rulemaking (change of policy) in early July, 2009, to remove HIV from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) list of communicable diseases of public health significance. The proposed change was subject to public comment (from organizations and individuals) for 45 days until August 17, 2009. Should the Obama Administration decide to actually make the policy change and remove HIV from the list, it will mark the end of the discriminatory policy, which has become known as the “HIV travel ban.” The timeline moving forward is not clear, but CDC is evaluating the public comments. Advocates will update you as soon as we know what the final rule change is.

Advocates for Youth submitted an organizational comment to the CDC citing the overwhelming public health evidence that indicates that the ban on entry of people living with HIV into the United States does nothing to protect public health and in fact serves to increase the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS through reinforcing discrimination. Advocates also alerted its activist listserv in conjunction with partner organizations in the United States to generate support from grassroots activists to email the CDC their own comments in support of removing HIV from the list of communicable diseases and “ending the ban.” A total of 529 letters were sent to the CDC from Advocates’ network in support of ending the ban.

Under the Reagan Administration, the CDC added HIV to the list in the late 1980s during the first years of the epidemic when knowledge about transmission was much weaker. However, public health evidence surfaced by the early 1990s suggesting that the assumptions of the public health benefits of banning entry of people living with HIV were unfounded. The Department of Health and Human Services attempted to remove HIV form the list in response to mounting data. Yet, in response, Senator Jesse Helms fought to protect its inclusion in law.

The law remained in place until July 2008 when the Lantos-Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Act was signed into law, which reauthorized the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and provided authorization for a number of other global health programs. Included in the reauthorizing legislation was a removal of the statute, leaving the final removal of the ban in the President’s hands. The process then slowed as the Bush Administration published an extremely high cost estimate on removing HIV from the list (mostly based on estimated increased health care costs to the U.S. health care infrastructure). This number was revised by President Obama’s CDC (see the model and methodology here: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/laws_regs/part34/hivecon.html), and after which the Obama administration proposed the change in policy to have HIV removed from the list.


Read All About It 

UNAIDS reports 50 Million in Asia at risk of HIV infection

Currently, more than 90% of the 1.7 million people now living with HIV in Asia became infected while in a monogamous, long-term relationship with men who engaged in risky behavior with other sexual partners or drug users. 50 million women in Asia are now estimated to be at risk of being infected with HIV, because of the risky behavior of their husbands or boyfriends.

Read more in this article here:
50 Million Women in Asia At Risk for HIV infection: UNAIDS

Angola and United States Partner to Fight HIV/AIDS

In early August, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton met with the Angolan Minister of External Relations to sign the “Partnership Framework between the Government of the Republic of Angola and the Government of the United States of America to Combat HIV/AIDS for 2009-2013.” The partnership framework provides a five-year strategic plan to achieve the joint goals of Angola’s HIV national strategic plan for 2007-2010 and the U.S. Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Read more in this article here:
Partnering with Angola in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS

Youth Speak Out at International Conference on AIDS in the Asia-Pacific (ICAAP)

The Bali Youth Force, an alliance of local and international youth-led organizations from the Asia Pacific region, announced a joint commitment to advocate for the rights of young people. Recommendations were developed from a month-long online survey of 50 young people from all across the Asia Pacific—including a recommendation to ensure young people’s meaningful participation in policies that affect their lives, particularly programs serving youth.

Read more in this article here:
Youth Groups Make Stand at ICAAP


Tools You Can Use 

Cairo + 15 Years: Countdown Towards the Implementation of the ICPD Program of Action

In 1994, for the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), delegations assembled in Cairo from 179 member states and from thousands of NGOs. Member states negotiated the 20-year action plan to develop a “new era of population” by 2015. The ICPD Program of Action (also known as the Cairo Consensus) placed the individual needs of men and, especially, women as the single most important factor for governments in determining population and development policies and strategies. As such, ICPD provides a policy framework and practical guidelines for national and international action to improve the situation of youth. (Source: UNFPA. Summary of the ICPD Programme of Action. New York: UNFPA, 1994)

Now, five years remain for governments to fully implement the Program of Action agreed at the ICPD. The experiences and outcomes of the last 15 years represent an urgent call for attention to prioritize and intensify the efforts to accomplish the intended program goals, with an emphasis on sexual and reproductive rights.

To download this tool in English and/or Spanish, click here:


Find out about New and Underused Reproductive Health Technologies

PATH has published a series of eight briefs highlighting new and underused reproductive health technologies. The eight reproductive health technologies highlighted in the briefs were selected by the Caucus on New and Underused Reproductive Health (RH) Technologies whose aim is to broaden the discussion within the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition of new and underutilized technologies that are available. The underused reproductive health technologies that are featured in the briefs include: CycleBeads®, the Diaphragm, the Female Condom, HPV Vaccines, Levonorgestrel (Emergency Contraception), Manual Vacuum Aspiration, Mifepristone/Misoprostol (Medical Abortion), and the Progesterone-Only Vaginal Ring

To learn about the Caucus on New and Underused Reproductive Health (RH) Technologies, click here: 

To read the series of briefs, click here:  

Order World AIDS Day materials now!

On June 16th, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon announced the theme for World AIDS Day 2009 as “Universal Access and Human Rights.” The theme was chosen to recognize the many commitments made, including in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS (2001) and the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS (2006), to protect human rights and attain access for all to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.

The World AIDS Campaign is a global coalition of national, regional and international civil society groups united by the call for governments to honor their AIDS commitments under the slogan “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.” The campaign is governed by a steering committee of global constituency-based networks and supported by a team of support staff based primarily in Cape Town, South Africa and partially in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

You can download campaign materials or order them here: 

To learn more about the World AIDS Campaign, go to: www.worldaidscampaign.org


Coming Soon

World Teachers’ Day, October 5

World Teachers' Day, held annually on October 5th since 1994, commemorates teachers’ organizations worldwide. Its aim is to mobilize support for teachers and to ensure that the needs of future generations will continue to be met by teachers.

World Teachers' Day represents a significant token of the awareness, understanding and appreciation displayed for the vital contribution that teachers make to education and development. It is an occasion to celebrate the essential role of teachers in providing quality education at all levels. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) leads the global Education for All movement, aiming to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults by 2015.

How does the role of teachers impact young people’s reproductive and sexual health?

• Teachers can be a resource. Teachers should support and provide age-appropriate, science-based information on reproductive and sexual health in schools.
• Teachers can be leaders in the community. Often, teachers have great respect in the community, as role models for young people to make responsible decisions that can help them create a better future for themselves. Often, teachers are considered knowledgeable, informative, and thus respected in the community to provide accurate information that help young people prevent unwanted pregnancies and STIs, including HIV.
• Teachers can be our allies. We can work with teachers to support young people’s rights to reproductive and sexual health information and services. With the support of teachers, we can strengthen our ally base and leverage positive change to influence policies and programs that affect young people’s lives.

To learn about World Teacher’s Day, go to:
http://www.ei-ie.org/worldteachersday2009/index

To learn about the Education for All movement, click here: