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All In, in Eastern and Southern Africa: Catalysing the HIV response for adolescents

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UNICEF and UNAIDS launch report on ending adolescent AIDS in Eastern and Southern Africa

Report details huge strides made in adolescent programming in Eastern and Southern Africa

23 July 2018—Today the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) launched a report titled All In, in Eastern and Southern Africa: Catalysing the HIV response for adolescents.

Launched at the 22nd International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam, the report demonstrates progress made on adolescent HIV programming in the Eastern and Southern African Region (ESAR) in a few short years. Qualitative in approach, the report explores how the impact of HIV on adolescents and young people was given visibility and focus as a result of the All In to end adolescent AIDS (All In) country assessments, which systematically reviewed and analyzed data, programmes and strategies currently responding to adolescent HIV.

“We are proud to launch this report, which shows how All In, a collaborative initiative, was able to successfully mobilize partners and engage adolescents and young people in order to influence policies and programmes affecting the lives of young people,” said Leila Pakkala, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa.

The report shows that three years after the global launch of All In in Kenya, adolescents are recognized as a key group to work with and respond to in an effective HIV response.

Recognising that of the 25 All In priority countries, 14 high burden countries – Botswana, eSwatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe – are in ESAR, the report tracks country progress and shows how governments and partners took initiative in order to better understand the situation of adolescent HIV. Adolescents and young people in countries were engaged throughout the process, which allowed for strong advocacy and shifts in programming to support adolescents living with HIV and those at risk of HIV infection.

The report shows how a phased approach catalysed programmes to be more focused on the specific needs of adolescents. Most of all, the report outlines how urgent action, including high-level political commitment, was galvanized for adolescents and young people in the region. Importantly, the report offers suggestions and recommendations on how to strengthen strategic information and apply evidence-based programming in national strategic plans, domestic funding allocations and ensuring that data is harmonized in national data systems and disaggregated by age and sex.

“All In shows us the importance of the meaningful and active engagement of adolescents from planning to implementation and review. I hope that with this report partners in the eastern and southern African region are better equipped to work closely with adolescents and young people to support efforts to end adolescent AIDS,” said Catherine Sozi, Director for UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa.

All In! to end adolescent AIDS

A joint UNICEF and UNAIDS initiative, All In aims to inspire governments and partners to collaborate across sectors and accelerate the HIV response for adolescents by reducing AIDS-related deaths and new HIV infections among 10–19-year-olds.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.

For more information:

UNAIDS Johannesburg: Natalie Ridgard, ridgardn@unaids.org; +27 82 909 2637

UNICEF, Nairobi, James Elder, jelder@unicef.org; +254715581222