2009 Pacific Youth Festival: Safe Festival Evaluation Report

Pacific youth are central to the HIV response in the region. As of 2007, 4,103 new cases of HIV were reported in the region. The majority of these cases were people between the ages of 15 and 29. Even though the number of reported HIV cases is relatively low, other indicators of risk and vulnerability such as STIs are high among youth aged 15 to 24.

Whilst education on sexual health including HIV has improved over the past 10 years, getting young people to recognise their risks for HIV and STI infection and to adopt safe behaviour remains a challenge.

The development of the 2009 Pacific Youth Festival Safe Festival campaign primarily stemmed from lessons learned during the 1st Pacific Youth Festival–Safe Festival Campaign, which resulted in the following recommendations:

• Involvement of the target group at all stages of the campaign – planning, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation
• Use of the peer to peer approach to disseminate information and products and provide
services and support
• Development of BCC materials that participants wear or use
• Distribution of both male and female condoms