YKP COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund launches Phase III

More than a year has passed since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, and the world today is still grappling to deal with its consequences. Although some countries have begun mass COVID-19 vaccination programmes, many low-middle income countries have fallen through the cracks, leaving vulnerable key populations exposed to greater risks and without access to vaccines. Increasing inequality and stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV and key populations continue to disrupt peoples’ access to HIV prevention and treatment services.  

There are growing concerns about how COVID-19 will impact the progress already made on HIV and what this means for vulnerable populations, including young people. Young key populations (YKPs) and young people living with HIV (YPLHIV) continue to face challenges in employment, social protection, access to healthcare and education, which COVID-19 has further exacerbated. To alleviate the burdens faced by YKPs and YPLHIV, Youth LEAD announced in May 2021 the continuation of the YKP COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund Phase 3 to support ongoing youth-led and youth-serving relief efforts and initiatives in Asia and the Pacific.

Youth LEAD has been supporting YKPs and youth-led organisations across the Asia Pacific region during COVID-19 through the YKP COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund since the first COVID-19 outbreak. In phase 1 and 2, the emergency relief fund was supported by the Robert Carr Fund, with additional donor support from AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) in Phase 2. 

For the third phase, Youth LEAD, with financial support from the RCF and UNAIDS Asia Pacific RST, allocated USD 24,000 towards the emergency relief fund. In total, combining Phase 1-3, Youth LEAD mobilised USD 77,000 towards the YKP COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund and is committed to mobilising additional resources to support more YKP and youth-led initiatives across the Asia Pacific region.

Youth LEAD is pleased to announce the following organisations will receive small grants through the YKP COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund Phase III to support initiatives that will serve young key populations and YPLHIV during this unprecedented time. 

• Y-PEER Pilipinas (the Philipines) 
• KHANA (Cambodia)
• VYKAP (Vietnam)
• Ya_All (India) 
• YKP Lead Nepal (Nepal)

For any further enquiries regarding the YKP COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund Phase III please contact ikka@youth-lead.org