Young Men and HIV Prevention: A Toolkit for Action

This toolkit on young men and their sexual health, particularly related to HIV and AIDS, focuses on the benefits of working with young men and aims to provide practical strategies and examples on how to do so in ways that apply a gender perspective. The toolkit was developed by Promundo and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) with input by several leading organisations working in the fields of gender, sexuality, and HIV prevention, including Estudos e Comunicacao em Sexualidade e Reproducao Humana (ECOS) in Brazil and Salud y Género in Mexico.

According to the Introduction: "The toolkit presents conceptual and practical information on how to design, implement and evaluate HIV prevention activities which incorporate a gender perspective and engage young men and relevant stakeholders.... This tool kit is designed for programme planners, health providers, peer educators, advocates and others who work with and/or for young people on issues related to gender-equity, health, and HIV- and AIDS-specific topics.... Specific topics include how to:

• Carry out a needs assessment to understand the influences on young men’s attitudes and behaviours and possible entry-points for engaging them in HIV prevention. • Facilitate group educational activities to promote critical reflections about gender norms and skill-building related to HIV prevention. • Design and implement campaigns to create a favourable environment for young men to assume more gender-equitable behaviours. • Organize health services to be more attractive to young men and more sensitive and responsive to their needs • Carry out advocacy to influence support and • Monitor and evaluate activities to assess and improve impact."