As part of his mission to South Africa, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, Ahmad Alhendawi, made a stop in the SOS village in Mamelodi, Pretoria, on 5 October 2013. Welcomed by the regional director, the Envoy visited the different facilities and programmes that SOS Villages run. He also joined a group of youth representing several SOS Villages in the country for a discussion about the work of the UN, during which the youth shared their views and hopes.

Later in the day, the Envoy met with the regional office of UNAIDS, as well as a group of young people living with HIV. According to statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most severely affected region in the world, with nearly 1 in every 20 adults (4.9 percent) living with HIV, accounting for 69 percent of the people living with HIV worldwide.