Of the 30 million people alive today with HIV infection or AIDS, at least 10 million are young people aged 10-24. Every day, 7000 young people worldwide acquire the virus. This means around 2.6 million new infections a year among young people, including 1.7 million in Africa and 700 000 in Asia and the Pacific. Overall, young people account for at least 50% of all those who become infected after infancy, and in some countries the figure exceeds 60%. To some extent, these high infection rates reflect the preponderance of young people in the world. The global population is young, and increasingly so. Of the world's young people, 85% live in developing countries, and this is where over nine-tenths of the epidemic is now concentrated.

But population percentages tell only part of the story. There are special reasons why young people are specially exposed to infection with what is above all a sexually transmitted virus. One is that adolescence and youth are times of discovery, emerging feelings and the exploration of new behaviour and new relationships. Sexual behaviour, an important part of this, can involve risks; the same is true of experimentation with substance use, including alcohol, illicit drugs, and other substances.

At the same time, young people get mixed messages from people around them, including their friends. They are often faced with double standards calling for virginity in females but early and active sexual behaviour in males. They are confronted with media images of sex, smoking and drinking as glamorous and risk-free. They are told to be abstinent, but exposed to a barrage of advertisements using sex to sell goods. Youth-friendly information - information that keeps the realities of young people in mind - is often lacking. Compounding the challenge, in the name of morality, culture or religion young people are often denied their right to education about the health risks of sexual and other risk behaviour, and to important social skills, tools and services for protection.

Among the world's young people, some are more exposed to HIV than others. Those living in what UNICEF terms ''especially difficult circumstances'' include young people who are out of school, who live on the streets, who are sexually exploited commercially, or who are sexually and physically abused. These young people are particularly disadvantaged by the lack of information and services available to them and directed to their needs.

What most of these situations have in common is lack of respect for young people's basic rights, which leaves them vulnerable to infection with HIV. Young people have a right to information, education, and a supportive environment that promotes their health.

An example of efforts to provide education and a supportive environment is the provision of sexual health education in schools. But what impact does sexual health education have? Is it helpful, or can it be harmful?

A World Health Organization review of programmes around the world, recently updated by UNAIDS, found that sex education does not lead to earlier or increased sexual activity, contrary to what many parents feared. The review concluded, instead, that:

_ the life skills needed for responsible and safe behaviour can be learned

_ good-quality educational programmes help delay first intercourse and protect sexually-active young people from HIV, STDs and pregnancy.

Another example of an effort to provide education and a supportive environment on a large scale is the 1998 World AIDS Campaign for and with young people, carried out by UNAIDS and its partners. There are three reasons why this effort was initiated.

One is the special vulnerability of young people to the epidemic. Another reason is that there are one billion young people in the world. If HIV prevention in this huge youthful population fails, developing countries will have to face the staggering human and economic costs of vast numbers of adult AIDS cases.

Most important, working with young people makes sense because they are a force for change. They are still at the stage of experimentation and can learn more easily than adults to make their behaviour safe or to adopt safe practices from the start. As Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS recently noted B AYapproximately 100 million people become sexually active each year. Imagine the difference we could make on the epidemic if they postponed the debut of their sex lives by one or two years and when they became sexually active, did so with safe behaviour?@ But the role of young people does not stop there. They can help take the sting and shame out of AIDS where it is still stigmatized; they can bring kindness and practical help to those already infected with HIV or living in a household touched by AIDS. If they have opportunities to work with adults, young people can change the course of the epidemic.

Force for Change, the 1998 World AIDS Campaign with young people provides opportunities for the social and private sectors to mobilize along with young people to promote their highest state of well-being. When young people can work with each other and with the support and strong commitment of adults, there are opportunities to create social environments that protect young people's rights and enable them to develop to their full potential.

Young people deserve priority attention in the ever-growing HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The numbers and the characteristics of the epidemic among young people differ by region, but unless all regions develop effective means of reducing young people's vulnerability to HIV and their risk for infection, entire populations of young people will be lost, the epidemic will keep gaining momentum, and the human and economic costs will become intolerable.

In creating culturally sensitive policies and actions, it is important to look ''beyond AIDS'' to the larger picture of young people's health and development. If we do not remedy the underlying causes - including human rights violations - that make young people vulnerable and put them at risk of HIV infection, there is little hope of reversing infection trends. There are no shortcuts.

At the same time, policies and initiatives must move beyond viewing young people simply as a ''target group'' whose problems must be addressed and fixed. It is critical to recognize the tremendous resource which young people represent. Initiatives that combine the strengths of both young people and adults, from the planning stage all the way to implementation and evaluation, will be the ones that will make a difference. The creativity, energy and charisma of young people have brought insight and inspiration to programmes that listen to what young people have to say.

This year's World AIDS Campaign has helped to turn the world's attention to our best hope for ending the epidemic. Young people. A force for change.

On every continent, young people have stopped waiting for the experts and have started informing each other, supporting each other, and protecting each other. And in the process, they are inspiring us all and demonstrating that this epidemic can be contained. Many of the young people who were in Braga last week and with us here have their own stories to tell. Stories that inspire us with their bravery and their genius.

One young person who came to Geneva last month for the international AIDS conference was Geena Gonzales from the Philippines. Here are some words that she shared with us:

Y * I am 24 years old and I Yused to be a sex worker. A total twist in my life came when my friend got infected with HIV. I then decided to take action in further preventing the spread of HIV and STDs among my peers. I vowed to myself that I will forever be an AIDS activist. I joined an NGO of people living with HIV and AIDS as a volunteer giving care and support, HIV/ AIDS lectures, and testimonials. I have seen a lot of discrimination and human rights violations. I am calling on everyone, especially the young people, regardless of nationality, cultural differences, and colour. We need more collective action in order to fight AIDS. I believe that education is powerful but it is not enough. Young people must have their part and share responsibility and decision making. +

We must not only forge partnerships with young people; we must seek to learn from them, and to take on their characteristics.
Like them, we must be enthusiastic.
Like them, we must be creative.
Like them, we must be caring and remain optimistic.
Like them, we must be impatient.
And, with them, we must succeed.