. Today's young people are third generation AIDS . They have never known a world without HIV. Millions already have died. Yet the HIV/AIDS epidemic among youth remains largely invisible to adults and to young people themselves. Stopping HIV/AIDS requires comprehensive strategies that just focus on youth.   Today, nearly 12 million young people are living with HIV/AIDS. Young women are several times more likely than young men to be infected with HIV. In nearly 20 African countries 5% or more of women ages 15 to 24 are infected. Such statistics underscore the Physical, psychological, and social attributes of adolescence which make young people particularly vulnerable to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STD's). Adolescents often are not able to comprehend fully the extent of their exposure to risk. Societies often compound young people's risk by making it difficult for them to learn about HIV/AIDS and reproductive health. Moreover, many youth are socially inexperienced and dependent on others. Peer pressures easily influence them—often in ways that can increase their risk.

 

Culturally competent, honest programs, that include information about abstinence, contraception, and the use of condoms can be effective in helping youth reduce risk behaviors.  Programs must be directed at understanding the epidemic's impact on youth  and the socioeconomic disparities which contribute to the epidemic.