HIV prevalence trends in 16 countries show decline among young people. Declines of 25 per cent or more are reported in 15 out of 21 countries most affected by HIV.

Young people are leading the prevention revolution by taking definitive action to protect themselves from HIV. A change is happening among young people across the world, especially in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Waiting longer to become sexually active, young people have fewer multiple partners and there’s an increased use of condoms among those with multiple partners. And HIV prevalence among young people is dropping in many key countries.

The impact—HIV prevalence among young people is falling in 16 of the 21 countries most affected by HIV. A groundbreaking study for UNAIDS led by the International Group on Analysis of Trends in HIV Prevalence and Behaviours among Young People shows that countries with a high burden of HIV have either achieved or are on track to achieve the international goal agreed at the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994 and endorsed by Member States in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS adopted at the United Nations General

Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS in 2001 of reducing HIV prevalence among young people by 25% in 2010.

This breaking news section of OUTLOOK captures some of the main findings of the study, which will be presented for the first time at the XVIII International AIDS Conference being held in Vienna in 2010. The report shows that for the first time reductions in HIV prevalence among young people have coincided with a change in sexual behaviour patterns among people. The report also says that declines in HIV prevalence can be attributed to falling new HIV infections among young people—a breakthrough essential for breaking the trajectory of the AIDS epidemic.

See: http://data.unaids.org/pub/Outlook/2010/20100713_outlook_youngpeople_en.pdf