Young people have a vital role to play in the battle against HIV and AIDS. Disproportionately vulnerable to, and affected by, both HIV and AIDS, the young have too long been overlooked as an effective resource for tackling the pandemic. This paper shares promising examples of where National AIDS Authorities (NAAs) are working with young people to showcase activities and methods of youth participation that could be replicated; demonstrate the benefits to NAAs of working with young people; and start sharing solutions to some of the common barriers to working with young people faced by NAAs. The paper concludes with recommendations and general principles for youth participation.

Highlighting evidence from a number of National AIDS Authorities (NAAs) already engaging young people in the pandemic response, this paper addresses three key areas:

Highlighting the benefits of working with young people: The inclusion of young people remains sporadic, with few NAAs (even those actively engaging young people) aware of the cross-cutting benefits this has on the movement. This paper calls for increasing the awareness of such benefits.
- Increase understanding on how to work with youth in HIV efforts: This paper is designed as a platform upon which to share best-practice examples of how young people can best support NAAs in the response to HIV and AIDS.
- Analyse why NAAs sometimes struggle to work with young people: This paper explores those barriers currently inhibiting NAAs from working closely with young people, presenting simple, effective solutions for overcoming these challenges.