Summary: The HIV Prevention for Youth Act would take several steps to improve the effectiveness of prevention efforts for young people around the world, including restructuring PEPFAR funding stipulations to allow for local communities to develop prevention programs that better fit their particular needs.

What You Should Know: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed key HIV prevention programs supported by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). It found that the current, arbitrary earmark requiring one third of HIV prevention funding to be spent on "abtinence-only-until-marriage” and the way it is being implemented by the Administration is undermining prevention work in many local communities. In a response to these findings, this bill provides a "quick-fix" to the problem by applying the earmark only to the funds for preventing the sexual transmission of HIV. Currently the earmark is effectively shifting from mother-to-child transmission prevention and blood safety measures in order to meet requirements for “abstinence-only-until-marriage” spending. This bill would also identify those youth who are already sexually active as “high-risk,” in order to foster more comprehensive prevention efforts that are relative to their life's circumstances - with the intent of better preventing HIV infection. The HIV Prevention for Youth Act maintains the priority of abstinence education in the PEPFAR guidelines, but it provides needed clarity for health workers along with the flexibility necessary for service providers to meet the specific needs of local communities.

Primary Sponsor(s): Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) & Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

Introduction Date: 7/14/06

Last Major Action: 7/14/06. Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.