Mission and History

HIV Young Leaders Fund’s mission is to enable new leadership in the HIV response among young people most affected by HIV.

HYLF’s theory of change is that providing a youth-led HIV initiative with a small grant empowers young people to address the needs of their peers. As they manage and implement the funded work, young people and their organizations develop leadership skills and become visible within their community’s HIV response. These new advocates can then take their insights and knowledge to policymakers, governments and others to advocate for a more effective HIV response.

HYLF builds youth leadership throughout all aspects of its organization through a continuum of leadership capacity development processes, including:

  • Grant making;
  • Technical grant review process;
  • Technical assistance to grantees;
  • Governance; and
  • Secretariat operations.

HIV Young Leaders Fund was founded by young health activists at the June 2009 Oslo Young Leaders Summit.   The 2009 Oslo Young Leaders Summit – organized by aids2031, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNAIDS – convened young leaders from around the world to develop long-term solutions to issues faced by young people in the HIV response. During the lead-up to the Summit, young participants identified barriers to accessing funds as a major impediment to supporting a new generation of HIV activists. HYLF formed to address these barriers, becoming operational in January 2010. A global survey conducted in several languages informed the design of HYLF’s structure and funding priorities, and the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition played a critical role in advising HYLF on its programs. HYLF is currently hosted by the Tides Center, a U.S. 501c3.

The following organizations are on the Steering Committee, which governs the HYLF:

Please click here to read the December 2009 press release “HIV Young Leaders Fund to Launch in 2010: A new partnership effort between youth networks and donors.”