Young people in Africa have been hard-hit by HIV/AIDS and its accompanying challenges, with upwards of 6.3 million young people in Africa living with the disease. Even many more are affected; there are 14 million youth in Africa orphaned by HIV/AIDS, and many adolescents represent the sole means of support for their families.
The good news is that young people are taking matters into their own hands, initiating actions to curb the spread of the virus, and in the process help their peers as well as themselves. Yet, reports, fact sheets, and analysis often say very little about what efforts young people are carrying out in their communities. Across Africa, young people are involved in grassroots endeavors as peer educators and care-givers. They are engaging in advocacy to inprove policies and practices which will limit their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, and are forming local as well as national, regional, and international organizations, alliances, and networks which address HIV/AIDS prevention and education. And their efforts also often focus on other development issues, such as income-generation, nutrition, human rights, and/or conflict resolution, and involve the use of the arts, sports, and/or information and communication technologies to achieve their goals.