Youth Together Against AIDS in Toronto!

On Monday, August 14th, some 20,000 scientists, activists, youth leaders, government officials & people living with HIV/AIDS will gather in Toronto, Canada for the 16th International AIDS Conference.

YPW’s Youth Together Against AIDS Director, Maria Porter, is one of them. She is attending the conference and reporting on all the youth programs, organizations and dynamic young leaders taking on this issue. Check back here for updates!

The week-long conference is an opportunity for people working on any and all aspects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic to come together, share their research & experiences, hold important discussions for planning, and strengthen networks for addressing this critical health crisis.

This year’s theme for the conference is “Time to Deliver” – a vital message directed at governments all around the world. It refers to the fact that, over the past 25 years of this disease much has been discovered & learned to help prevent the spread of HIV and keep people with HIV/AIDS leading healthy and productive lives. Yet, millions of people living in developing countries –especially children, youth & women-- have yet to receive life-saving prevention information, resources for protection, or access to Anti-Retroviral Drugs that can prolong the life of someone with HIV for many years.

Promises have been made by governments the world over to make HIV/AIDS a priority and ensure that the resources and treatment reach those most in need, yet not enough has been done. Thus, the rallying cry for this year’s conference is that it is indeed “Time to Deliver!” Thousands of young people from all around the world will be present at the conference to bring the voice of youth to this cry, and to highlight the greatest concerns young people have around HIV/AIDS, as well as the most effective strategies for reaching peers with prevention information and creating a culture of safer-behavior.

For more information on the conference visit: www.aids2006.org