The Director of the National Aids Secretariat (NAS), Alieu Jammeh has stated that despite the high level of awareness about HIV/Aids in The Gambia, new infections continue to rise among the youths.

This, he said indicate that knowledge does not translate into action or behaviour change. He made this statement on Tuesday at a symposium held at the Kanifing Municipal Council hall. According to him, the physical, psychological and social attributes of young people make them particularly vulnerable to HIV and others STIs. Noting, most of the time they are not able to comprehend fully the extent of their exposure to risk.

He added that HIV/AIDS target the vulnerable and are attached to many other social ills, including domestic abuse, violence, poverty, incest, infidelity and sexual irresponsibility. He said, Â"HIV/AIDS is a social disease, it has no barriers and does not discriminate when it comes to sex, race, class, location, education or sexual orientationÂ". Jammeh further stated that young people have always been the primary target of global projects, be it in peace building, conflict resolution, poverty reduction or H IV/AIDS programming. He said that as future leaders of society, young people need to be fully informed and empowered before that responsibility falls on them. Also speaking at the symposium, Nuha Ceesay, UNAIDS country officer said that AIDS continues to be one of the most destructive epidemics in human history.

He revealed that in the last 25 years, the epidemic has grown from a few isolated cases to over 65 million infections and the number of new infections continues to grow each year. Â" Nearly 25 million women, men and children have died of HIV/AIDS, and only a fraction of the 33.4 million people living with the virus are even aware of their infection, fewer still have access to the HIV medicines they need to stay alive,Â" Jammeh stated. Jammeh disclosed that lack of human rights protection, poverty and marginalization permits HIV to take root in societyÂ's most vulnerable populations. For example, there is often poor provision of services for women, young girls and youth, most-at-risk population, including sex workers and injecting drug users as a result of discrimination and social taboos.

For his part, Yankuba Colley, Mayor of Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC), called upon all and sundry to join forces and change attitudes for total HIV/AIDS elimination and to ensure that, the people within KMC are safe from the havoc of HIV/AIDS. He said that the fight against HIV/AIDS therefore needs their support and commitment. Â"Let it serve as a moment in which we would renew our common resolve to fight against the disease in the many ways being applied by our various sectorsÂ", he added.

According to him, the objective is not who can do it better, rather it is about what they are able to achieve collectively and effectively minimise the national prevalence rates. Mustapha Kebbeh, chairman, board of Director at NAYCO, said that young people in The Gambia like the other young people worldwide are open to experimentation and curiosity given their diverse experiences, the different political, economic, social and cultural reality they face in their communities yet there is a common thread running-through all of their lives and that is the hope for a better future. Â"Young people remain at the centre of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in terms of rates of infection, vulnerability, impact, and potential for change,Â" he remarked.

According to him, they have grown up in a world changed by HIV/A IDS but still lack comprehensive and correct knowledge about how to prevent HIV infection. He stated that this situation persists even though the world has agreed that young people have the human right to education, information and services that could protect them from harm. Â"We, heads of state and government and representatives of states and governments commit ourselves to addressing the rising rates of HIV infection among young people to ensure an HIV-free future generation through the implementation of comprehensive, evidence-based prevention strategies, responsible sexual behaviour, including the use of condoms, evidence and skills-based, youth specific HIV education, mass media interventions, and the provision of youth friendly health servicesÂ", he added.

He further said that from rhetoric to action, the importance of preventing HIV infections among young people has been a consistent message in all HIV/AIDS related commitments to date, particularly ICPD+5, the Millennium Development Goals, the declaration on HIV/AIDS in 2006. Kebbeh further said that HIV prevention among young people is also one of the essential programmatic actions for HIV prevention in the UNAIDS policy position paper intensifying HIV/AIDS prevention. Other speakers included Marchel Mendy, Lamin K Saidy and Lamin Camara also expressed similar sentiment.