ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH

Rights. Respect. Responsibility.^® The Fix the GAP Campaign

Stop U.S. Exportation of Abstinence-Only Programs

HIV and AIDS has become a pandemic—a global epidemic, affecting an exceptionally highproportion of all humanity. Experts estimate that at least 36 million people are currently living with HIV or AIDS. Moreover, experts believe that an additional 45 million people living in 126 countries (low- to moderate-income nations) will be infected with HIV before 2010. Half of all new HIV infections occur in youth ages 15 through 24. The U.S. response, under President George W. Bush, is to deny young people life-saving information about condoms and to target youth with messages to remain abstinent until marriage. Under Uganda's successful ABC (Abstinence, Be Faithful, Use Condoms) strategy, everyone was encouraged to adopt abstinence, if appropriate, to be faithful to one partner, and to use condoms. But under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), messages are separated and divided by groups—abstinence, only for young people; be faithful, only for married couples; and use condoms, only for sex workers and others considered to be at high risk.

Think this is wrong?! Then make your voice count! Join other youth activists in the Fix the GAP Campaign, as they raise their voices about the need for effective HIV prevention programs in communities in the U.S. and abroad. Here's how to get started:

• Step 1: Join up with other youth activists through the Youth Activist Network.
• Step 2: Download the campaign toolkit.
• Step 3: Learn more about the politics of global HIV prevention in The Real ABCs: Access Denied.
• Step 4: Sign the the petition urging national governments to listen to young people and to include them in leadership positions in the battle against HIV and AIDS.
• Step 5: Read Advocates for Youth's fact sheets, Straight Talk—HIV and Young People and The ABCs and HIV Prevention: How the U.S. Government Limits Youth's Access to Health Information.
• Step 6: PEPFAR is up for reauthorization in 2008. Read A Hot Topic: PEPFAR Reauthorization.
• Step 7: Send an e-mail to your Representative to support the PATHWAY Act - The Protection Against Transmission of HIV for Women and Youth Act of 2007 (H.R.1713) would repeal the earmark, and require President Bush and the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator to develop a comprehensive HIV prevention strategy to address the major factors contributing to gender disparities in HIV infection.
• Step 8: Send e-mails to your Senators and Congressional Representative urging them to rescind the language that directs "at least" 33 percent of prevention dollars to unproven abstinence-only-until-marriage programs that censor vital information about the health benefits of using condoms to prevent HIV infection.

So, you're ready to get rolling. We are excited about your involvement in the Fix the GAP Campaign. Together, we can improve policies affecting adolescent sexual health worldwide.

Sincerely,

Advocates for Youth staff and activists

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