KAMPALA, Uganda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 12, 2026--
As governments grapple with shrinking health budgets and uncertainty around global health funding, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) marks International Youth Day by urging world leaders to prioritize the needs of young people. Strong support for their health, education, and economic prospects pays dividends throughout their lives and strengthens families, communities, and economies.
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The need remains urgent. Globally, 370,000 people ages 15 to 24 acquired HIV in 2024, including 145,000 adolescents ages 15 to 19, while 93,000 children ages 14 and younger acquired HIV in 2025. In sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls and young women accounted for approximately 160,000 new HIV acquisitions in 2025, with incidence three to four times higher than among their male peers. These challenges come as funding for HIV prevention programs continues to decline.
“We already know many of the interventions that help young people lead healthier, more productive lives—youth-friendly health services, evidence-based and age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education, and safe spaces for learning and dialogue,” said Dr. Penninah Iutung, AHF Executive Vice President - Global. “AHF puts these approaches into practice through Girls Act, Boys2Men, and other youth-focused programs that build trust, strengthen peer networks, and equip participants with the knowledge and support to make informed decisions and become advocates for healthier communities.”
Supporting the next generation must also extend beyond healthcare. Governments must address youth unemployment, expand vocational training, improve educational attainment, and ensure access to basic necessities, including menstrual hygiene products for girls and young women. Parents and caregivers also have an essential role, and programs should encourage their positive involvement in young people’s health, education, and development while fostering greater confidence and independence.
International Youth Day, commemorated each year on Aug. 12, reminds us that decisions made today will shape the health and opportunities of an entire generation. Even in difficult fiscal times, resources directed toward young people are not an expense to be deferred—they are essential to building healthier, more resilient, and more prosperous societies.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 3 million people across 50 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. In January 2025, AHF received the MLK, Jr. Social Justice Award, The King Center’s highest recognition for an organization leading work in the social justice arena. To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
On International Youth Day, AHF celebrates young people around the world and calls for greater investment in their health, education, economic opportunity, and ability to shape their own futures.
Latin music stars Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, Chayanne, Feid, Jay Wheeler and many more will perform at an international benefit concert livestreamed from Miami on Sunday to raise money for those impacted by devastating earthquakes in Venezuela and Colombia.
Proceeds from online donations and ticket sales collected during the “Unidos por Los Nuestros,” or “United for Our Own,” concert will address both immediate and long-term needs, including rebuilding homes, repairing schools and community spaces, supporting children and providing mental health support, among other initiatives.
“Uniting for a common cause — taking action and helping fellow human beings facing hardship — is a duty we all share,” said Anthony, a multiple Grammy Award winner whose nonprofit Maestro Cares Foundation will administer the funds along with the Univision Foundation.
Proceeds from the concert will support the nonprofit groups All Hands and Hearts, CARE, Global Empowerment Mission, Techo and World Central Kitchen.
The event was initially created to benefit Venezuela after magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes rocked northern areas of the country just 39 seconds apart on June 24, killing at least 6,300 people. Those plans changed Monday when western parts of Colombia were hit by a deadly 7.4 magnitude earthquake, spurring event organizers to include the neighboring country.
Authorities and residents are just beginning to comprehend the devastation in Colombia, where at least 265 people were confirmed dead and nearly 500 people were reported missing by Wednesday afternoon, according to President Abelardo de la Espriella. Civilian-run databases put the number of missing at more than 4,100.
For Venezuela, the fundraiser comes at a crucial time as public and media attention fades on a humanitarian crisis that will last years, said Rodner Figueroa, co-founder and vice president of the I Love Venezuela Foundation, which channels resources to nonprofits working in Venezuela and is a Global Empowerment Mission partner.
“The biggest challenge right now is to keep the moment alive,” said Figueroa. “The need in Venezuela continues to be at a scale that is unbelievable.”
Tens of thousands of displaced survivors there need housing, clean water and sanitation and ongoing medical attention. More than six weeks later, people are still searching for missing friends and relatives, often without any official help.
The benefit concert will take place Sunday at 6 p.m. EDT at Miami’s Kaseya Center and will be shown live on Univision, ViX, WAPA and TelevisaUnivision radio stations, iHeartLatino and Venevision Play in Venezuela.
Viewers can donate by scanning on-screen QR codes, texting UNIDOS to 707070 or visiting univision.org during the broadcast.
Additional music acts include Piso 21, Gente de Zona, Elena Rose, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Ricardo Montaner, Mau y Ricky, Olga Tañón and others. The performers span Latin genres from salsa and reggaeton to pop and come from across Latin America, including Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Cuba and Puerto Rico.
Dozens of Latin television personalities, journalists and other celebrities will help host the event, including Don Francisco, longtime host of the TV show “ Sábado Gigante ” and former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres.
“We have all witnessed the devastation that has affected our communities at some point — we have seen it happen time and again in many of our countries and across the globe,” said Anthony, who also advocated and raised funds after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017. “The need is immense.”
Some Colombian artists committed to the fundraiser well before Monday's earthquake. The Urbano Latino musician Feid, born in Medellín, has been reaching out to his more than 14 million Instagram followers this week to support aid groups there.
Latin music also shares a special connection with Cali, Colombia, one of the hardest-hit cities and a globally recognized hub for Salsa music and dance.
“Unidos por Los Nuestros” is being organized by Cárdenas Marketing Network, Maestro Cares Foundation, TelevisaUnivision and PIMIENTO Entertainment.
Other musicians are also mobilizing relief efforts. The Venezuelan band Rawayana founded Fundación El After shortly following the disaster to support impacted young people. Shakira and other Colombian musicians, including Karol G, Ryan Castro and J. Balvin, rallied support for Colombia on Monday through social media. Metallica’s foundation donated $100,000 for Venezuela through the humanitarian organization Direct Relief.
Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel will host a benefit concert for earthquake recovery Aug. 23 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, his last performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic before he joins the New York Philharmonic.
Proceeds from Dudamel's “A Concert for Venezuela” will benefit recovery funds of the United Nations Development Programme and the CAF Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. Beck, Natalia Lafourcade and Carlos Vives will join Dudamel.
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FILE - Puerto Rican singer Jay Wheeler performs during the Coca-Cola Flow Fest music festival in Mexico City, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)
FILE - Elena Rose performs, "Me lo Merezco," during the 2025 Latin Grammys at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nov. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - Puerto Rican pop singer Chayanne, center, performs in concert during his We Dance Again tour in Panama City on April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - Marc Anthony performs the national anthem before an MLS soccer match between Inter Miami CF and Austin FC in Miami, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
