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Background
 | | Sarah Audelo speaking at GYCA and Advocates for Youth's Youth Summit at the United Nations during the 2006 General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS |
About GYCA
GYCA is a youth-led, UNAIDS and UNFPA supported global network of 4,000 young leaders and adult allies working on youth and HIV/AIDS in 150 countries world-wide. It was proposed by youth attendees of the XV International AIDS Conference in Bangkok 2004 and XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona 2002. GYCA's mission is to empower young leaders with the skills, knowledge, resources and opportunities they need to scale up HIV/AIDS interventions amongst their peers.
GYCA Member Kerrel MacKay from Jamaica speaks about being nominated to speak at the Toronto International AIDS Conference to an audience of thousands:
"Thanks to you guys for inviting me and for your confidence that I could do a good job. It was my pleasure!!! After i came back to Jamaica, the Chief of Epidemiology and AIDS at the Ministry of Health here in Jamaica offered me the position to coordinate activities and interventions targeting young people from the national level. So, I guess we all benefited!!!
Four priorities guide GYCA's work:
- Networking and sharing of best practices;
- Technical assistance and capacity building;
- Political advocacy;
- Preparation for international conferences.
GYCA operates on two tiers. The first, through information communication technology (ICT) with free capacity-building e-courses, discussion fora, and online resources; and the second, through local trainings and events.
GYCA is coordinated by a North Secretariat in New York and a South Secretariat in Accra, Ghana. The Secretariats act as catalysts for a decentralized network, operating through a Task Force of youth and adult allies including people living with HIV/AIDS, 12 Regional Focal Points, a growing number of National Focal Points worldwide. GYCA members represent an array of organizations, programmes, and networks focusing on youth and HIV/AIDS.
 | | GYCA member Polydor Sungu holding an HIV/AIDS prevention training with young people in Pretoria, South Africa |
Principle Values
GYCA decision-makers include youth living with HIV/AIDS, and the Coalition is committed to working with and for marginalized youth such as injecting drug users, men who have sex with men, sex workers, youth in resource-constrained areas without access to information communication technology (ICT), and others, and aims to create meaningful youth-adult partnerships.
GYCA advocates for a human rights-based approach to HIV/AIDS interventions that includes full and accurate information, education and services including condoms and needle exchange. Because most young people are infected with HIV through sexual intercourse, GYCA reaffirms that sexual and reproductive health and rights must be integrated with HIV/AIDS interventions to succeed.
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