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Media Statement: Global Network of Young People Living with HIV (Y+ Network) Steering Committee announced
30 January 2015 - Today, Y+ Network, affiliated to the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), announced its
new Steering Committee, comprised of young and adolescent advocates living with HIV (A/YPLHIV) from all regions of the world.
The purpose of this group of young people is to guide the development of the agenda for adolescents and young people
living with HIV, to determine programmatic priorities and make decisions through transparent processes and to
ensure that the issues of various communities of A/YPLHIV from all regions are well represented.
This follows a meeting convened by regional and national networks of young people living with HIV and Y+ advisors, which gathered in Cape
Town, South Africa, in April 2014 to chart the strategic direction, good governance and accountability mechanisms for the global
community of young people living with HIV.
The outgoing co-chair of the current Y+ Advisory Group, Duncan Moeketse, said that the change in the governance structure of the network
would increase accountability and help to create a stronger global structure for adolescents and young people living with HIV globally,
to ensure that their needs and aspirations remain relevant in the response.
This new leadership embodies the diversity of adolescents and young people living with HIV from all over the world. We are excited to
see the dawn of this new generation of leadership committed to the rights and well-being of the groups that are in the centre of the
epidemic. This will surely have a positive impact in the trajectory of the response. We are grateful for the continuous support
of GNP+, UNAIDS, Stop AIDS NOW!, the Robert Carr Fund and all our partners who have supported Y+ since its inception in
2010, Moeketse said.
The Y+ Network has grown from a virtual network of young people living with HIV into a strong structure with geographic and gender
representation of young people living with HIV. To retain young advocates who have always being part of the response, the members
of the Y+ Programme transition to providing mentorship to the new governing leadership as the members on the Advisory Group.
The following new members of the Steering Committee are:
East and Southern Africa:
- Consolata Opiyo, 24 (F) Kenya
- Loyce Maturu, 22 (F) Zimbabwe
West and Central Africa:
- Cedric Nininahazwe, 27 (M) Burundi
- Anita Ikwue, 18 (F) Nigeria
Latin America
- Diego Luis Grajalez, 23 (M) Belize
- Jaime Luna, 27 (M) Panama
MENA
- Julien Kerboghossian, 23 (M) Lebanon
- Abderarahi el Hibachi, 23(M) Morocco
ASIA PACIFIC
- Gautam Yadav, 24 (M) India
- Sudip Bhattarai, 20 (M) and Priya 14 (F) Nepal
EECA
- Yana Panfilova, 16 (F) Ukraine
NORTH AMERICA
- Lorraine Anyango, 24 (F) USA
- Ari Hampton, 26 (M) USA
In the coming weeks, the new Steering Committee members will familiarise themselves with their new roles, begin to develop a work
plan, determine resources needed and identify strategies for supporting national and regional networks of young people living with
HIV. We look forward to working more closely with all of you said Moeketse.
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About Y+ Network
In 2010, after discussions with the Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+), which was beginning to develop a youth programme,
Young Positives decided to integrate with GNP+'s new programme. This programme called Y+ aimed to mainstream youth issues within
GNP+'s network and advocacy. Later in 2012 a Y+ Advisory Group was established to provide feedback on the development of the Y+
Programme, and consisted of a voluntary group of 28 YPLHIV who had demonstrated a commitment and a connection to a
constituency within their region or community.
While both bodies served their respective purposes, from 2011 2013, the Y+ Advisory Group and Programme began to evolve into more of
an ad-hoc global network for issues pertaining to young people living with HIV. In late 2013, the Y+ Advisory Group, which consisted
of 28 individual representatives, began calling for a strategic planning meeting to review the history and evolution of Y+, Y+'s
niche in the HIV response and come to decisions around its structure, mission, vision and priorities.
Read more about the Y+ Network and its new Strategic Direction here
Read the Term of References for the Y+ Steering Committee member here
For more information visit www.yplusleadership.org
Contact persons:
Source: The Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+)
The Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+)
The Global Network of People Living With HIV (GNP+) is the global network for and by people living with HIV. Its mission is to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV. The vision is a powerful and united worldwide social movement of people living with HIV, with their leadership and voices at the centre of the HIV response. GNP+'s objective is equitable access to health and social services for people living with HIV by focusing on social justice, rights and involvement. This will be achieved through GNP's purpose, which is to promote the greater and more meaningful involvement of people living with HIV in programme and policy development (the GIPA principle). For more information, please visit www.gnpplus.net. You can also connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
"Reproduced with permission - Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+)"
Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+)
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