HIV Prevention in Adolescents and Young People in the Eastern and Southern African Region: A Review of Key Challenges Impeding Actions for an Effective Response.

The global commitment to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 places HIV prevention at the centre of the response. With the disease continuing to disproportionately affect young populations in the Eastern and Southern African Region (ESAR), particularly adolescent girls and young women, reducing HIV infections in this group is integral to achieving this ambitious target. This paper examines epidemiological patterns of the HIV epidemic among adolescents and young people, indicating where HIV prevention efforts need to be focused (, adolescent girls and young women, adolescent boys and young men and young key populations).

Lessons learned from a review of interventions for adolescent and young key populations in Asia Pacific and opportunities for programming.

Background: Over a third of new HIV infections globally are among 15-24 year-olds and over 20% among adolescents aged 10-19 years in Asia Pacific. The review was initiated to identify interventions in the region with demonstrated or potential impact for adolescent and young key populations (YKP) looking at the role of individual and structural factors in accessibility and delivery. The review is a component of a more comprehensive review undertaken by UNICEF and partners in the region.

'Part of the job': male-to-male sexual experiences and abuse of young men working as 'truck cleaners' along the highways of Pakistan.

As part of a study on the sexual health and social protection needs of men who have sex with men in Pakistan, 11 young men employed as assistants to truckers ('truck cleaners') who acknowledged having had sexual experiences with men, were interviewed and their social background and sexual initiation and their subsequent sexual lives were explored. For most truck cleaners, the first instance of sexual contact between the truck cleaner and the driver was forced and happened at an early age. Sex with other men, as well as with women (including sex workers) was widely reported.

Sexual abuse, social stigma and HIV vulnerability among young feminised men in Lahore and Karachi, Pakistan.

This study describes the experiences of 10 young feminised men in Pakistan. They face high levels of stigma, violence and sexual abuse. The average age of first sex was 11 years old and all reported having been been raped during childhood and early adolescence, often several times.