In Zimbabwe, a young man holds up a condom and its wrapper during a training session for peer educators. The trainees will teach other young people in their communities about how to protect themselves from HIV and AIDS.
UNICEF/HQ02-0321/Giacomo Pirozzi
The best weapon against HIV and AIDS is education. All young people should know about HIV, how it is spread and how to protect themselves. Yet millions of young people still don't know the most basic facts about HIV and prevention. A dramatic example of this comes from Somalia, where a study revealed that only 6 per cent of girls had heard of AIDS and only 1 per cent knew how to avoid infection.
Education should include 'life skills' to help young people to deal with situations that could be risky. Often, it's easier to talk about sex to people your own age. Young people all over the world are now becoming 'peer educators' so that they can teach other young people about how to protect themselves.
Young people also need access to adolescent-friendly health care, where they can get prevention information and services. This should include treatment for sexually-transmitted infections, counseling, condoms, and education on sexual health and risk reduction.
Young people also need access to HIV counseling and testing services. Those services should be voluntary and confidential, and should provide lost of support.