6 Feature

Youth:A force for

orld AIDS Day, De- cember 1, 1998, is an important inter-

national event. It joins nations and communities in one spirit to strengthen HIV/AIDS pre- vention and awareness pro- grams, and to improve care, support, and treatment for peo- ple living with HIV/AIDS.

In a report released November 24, UNAIDS (the world program on AIDS) and the World Health Organiza- tion revealed that HIV infec- tions increased by 10% in 1998, bringing the total number of people living with HIV around the globe to 33.4 million.

Although the trend to °

increasing infections in the general population is disturb- ing, this year’s World AIDS Day focuses on the particular problem of HIV among youth. Youth represent a third of the people living with HIV today, and 7000 more youth world- wide are infected each day.

The problem of HIV among youth is equally serious in Canada as it is worldwide. According to Health Canada’s Laboratory Centre for Disease Control, over half of new in- fections are occurring in youth aged 24 or less.

These statistics prompted the Canadian AIDS Society to make youth the fo- cus of the 1998/1999 AIDS

change

awareness campaign. The year-long campaign is launched every year with AIDS Aware- ness Week, which falls imme- diately before World AIDS Day, November 23-30, and continues until the spring of 1999,

“Many people suffer from the misconception that

“many people have the mis- conception that AIDS only af- fects certain populations”

AIDS only affects certain populations,” said Terrence Stewart, Chair of the Cana- dian AIDS Society. “The AIDS awareness campaign

tries to get the message out

that we’re all affected.”

As many as 5000 Cana- dians — primarily women, youth, Aboriginals, people who use needles to inject drugs (in- cluding steroids), and young gay men—may be contracting HIV each year, without realiz- ing they’re at risk.

Furhtermore, the Labo- ratory Centre for Disease Control estimates that be- tween 30-40% of people cur-

rently living with HIV don’t know they’re infected.

As for youth, “Part of being young is believing you’re immortal,” says Stewart. “Young gay men today in par- ticular haven’t grown up watching their friends die the way gay mendid inthe 1980s.”

The main factor that puts youth at risk for HIV is their age. It is in adolescence that experimentation with drugs, alcohol and sexual activity of- ten begins. While sharing nee- dles to inject drugs (including steroids) provides a direct route for HIV transmission, alcohol and other drugs can compro- mise a person’s judgement, reducing the chances that they will make appropriate decisions to avoid infection.

Studies have shown that 50 percent of Canadian 17 year-olds have had sexual in- tercourse.

Of these, 57 percent of 17 year-old boys and 45 per- cent of 17 year-old girls useda condom the last time they had sex. The presence of sexually transmitted diseases has also been shown to increase the risk of HIV infection if a per- son is exposed to the virus.

Women between the ages of 15 and 19 report the highest STD rates, and are therefore a high risk age group.

nchoosing the theme for World AIDS Day 1998, “Young people: A force

for change”, UNAIDS said “Youth are still at the stage of experimenta- tion and can learn more easily than adults to make their behaviour safe or to adopt safe practices from the start. But the role of young people does not stop there. They can help take the sting and shame out of AIDS where it is still stigmatized; they can bring kindness and practical help to those already infected with HIV or living in a household touched by AIDS. If they get support from the adults in their lives and from society at large, young people can change the course of the epidemic.”

his message touches on two key issues in HIV/AIDS today, the need

to provide youth with accurate, meaningful information about HIV/ AIDS, and the need to support youth in their contribution to the fight against this incurable disease. The Canadian AIDS Society’s youth campaign will attempt to do both. Watch for it next spring!

n Canada’s #1 choice since 1973

PHOLIDAYS

The Cadre « 1 December 1998

from CHARLOTTETOWN RUST CHECK

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Prince Edward Island

Aagornen UM. Dr. Herb Dickieson, MLA BM AA Leader of the Third Party

* . 5 r Office of the Third Party

Tel 902 368 5974 PO Box 2000 m Fax 902 368 5985 Charlottetown

http://www. gov.pe.ca/ Prince Edward Island

E-mail: thirdparty@gov.pe.ca Canada C1A 7N8

U.P.E.I.

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in the basement of Kelly Building Sing we now of Christmas, of love and laughter, peace and joy. From all of us to all of you, a very special holida season.

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