Talking from peer to peer

• peer education

THEY are enthusiastic, energetic, brimming with creative ideas and speak the lingo. It is evident that young people’s involvement in HIV/AIDS intervention programmes among their peers is key to curbing the spread of HIV. Youth2 spoke to some of the youths at the 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (Icaap) in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Ari Yuda Laksmana, 25 Indonesian Youth Partnership (Indonesia)

Ari started a new peer educators’ programme, the Indonesian Youth Partnership (IYP) because he felt that HIV/AIDS youth programmes that operated on their own were not effective.

Under IYP, Ari and his colleagues design training programmes, motivate peer educators and link up youth organisations under one umbrella. It focuses on access to information on sexual reproductive health, education, counselling and youth friendly services in local, provinces, and national level.

IYP is also trying to propose to the Health Ministry to include youth issues in the health amendment, in addition of its other efforts to build youth-adult partnerships and more space for youth people to be involved rather than becoming an “object” in the projects. “Indeed it is a challenge but we don’t have to give up because of our age,” he said.

resources:

http://videos.thestar.com.my/default.aspx?vid=388

http://thestar.com.my/youth2/story.aspfile=/2007/9/12/youth2/20070911185...