Young People Have the Power to Alter Global Inequities
By Kathy,
Coordinator, International Youth Leadership Council, Advocates for
Youth
I came to Washington, DC with nothing more than abstract ideas of what it means to fight against the indifference of society. I hate it that people in much of the developing world live with poverty, malnutrition, and disease; but until I came to Washington, I didn’t know how to do anything about it. As part of this unique DC community I have learned that I have a voice, that I have something valuable to say, and that it is possible to instigate change in the world.
The Student Global AIDS Campaign (SCAG) was my introduction to the world of HIV and AIDS activism. SCAG has taught me a great deal, not only about AIDS related issues but also about my roles in this movement as a student and a member of the youth population. Since becoming part of Advocates for Youth’s International Youth Leadership Council (IYLC), I can see that I will be able to do even more on these issues that I am so passionate about. As I learn from those I work with, I also look forward to educating the students on my campus as well as the policy makers in our government.
I do not think it is acceptable that half the world’s population lives on wages of less than a dollar a day or that each day, 80,000 people around the world die from AIDS. I do not think it is acceptable that youth between the ages of 16 and 25 make up half of all new HIV infections worldwide or that most women do not have the right to control their own bodies and their own reproduction or that youth lack the education to protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). While I understand that these issues are neither simple nor easily remedied, I also know that the wealthiest countries in the world (including the United States) do less than they can to decrease the suffering beyond their borders. Ultimately, I feel that I must do all that I can to fight for a fair and just world, one that I can be proud to be a part of.
Policy makers need to know what is happening to youth around the world. They need to reform U.S. government policies that make youth’s situation worse. They need to fully fund helpful strategies and programs targeted toward HIV and AIDS. In the United States, we have a government that is accountable to the people; and I think that when youth speak out, expressing our concern with global AIDS and international family planning issues, elected officials will have to respond. I think that, working together, young people have the power to alter global inequities in health, wealth, and hope that have long been passively accepted by the American public.
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