Although HIV risk among adolescents and young people is well-documented, there is still a need for better strategic information on young people at higher risk of HIV exposure, including young men who have sex with men, young transgender people, young people selling sex, young people injecting drugs and young people living with HIV.
Reliable strategic information, disaggregated by age, sex and other characteristics, including knowledge, risk behaviours, and use of services among these groups is crucial for informed programme planning and policy decision-making at country-level.
UNESCO, UNICEF, UNFPA and UNAIDS Asia-Pacific regional offices, with support from AusAid, collaborated to host an Experts Meeting on Methodologies for Obtaining Strategic Information on Young People at Higher Risk of HIV Exposure from 3 to 5 September 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand. This meeting brought together around 50 experts in HIV and behavioural surveillance, population size estimations, survey design and implementation, ethics with regard to the inclusion of minors in data collection, and the use of new media and technologies for data collection among young people from key populations. To share information and identify good practice, a wide range of experiences were elicited from government, civil society, UN and academic partners. For example:
• representatives from Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines explained how their countries have been able to include younger cohorts in country surveillance for key populations;
• representatives from Bhutan Cambodia, Lao PDR and Pakistan explained the process for implementing targeted surveys in “hotspots” to document risk and vulnerabilities among young people;
• civil society partners, including Save the Children and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, explained how their country programmes are collecting and using qualitative and quantitative data to understand and address the needs of young people from key populations;
• young researchers were invited to speak on the role of youth participation in obtaining strategic information, and the ethical issues that need to be considered when implementing surveys and other research;
• academic partners highlighted methodical, technical and ethical issues associated with strategic information, and their application to research with young people.
Finally, a “country clinic” session at the end of the meeting enabled countries preparing targeted surveys or country-level surveillance efforts to get support and advice from experts.
In addition to a rich sharing of experience and lessons learned, a further outcome of the meeting will be a guidance document to strengthen the collection of strategic information on young people from key affected populations in the Asia-Pacific region, drawing on the consultation exchange and outcomes.
See a video on the meeting on the Asia-Pacific Interagency Task Team for Young Key Affected Populations YouTube channel: