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Integrating the needs of young people into the Second National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS 2). Dabesaki Mac-Ikemenjima Representative of the Government of Nigeria Commonwealth Regional Youth Caucus Africa National Council on Youth Development March 12-16, Katsina City.
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Integrating the needs of young people into the Second National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS 2) Dabesaki Mac-Ikemenjima Representative of the Government of Nigeria Commonwealth Regional Youth Caucus Africa National Council on Youth Development March 12-16, Katsina City
NEEDS 1 • Value re-orientation • Wealth Creation • Employment Generation • Poverty eradication
NEEDS 2 NEEDS 2 will seek to reduce poverty levels by 35 percent by 2011, with a particular emphasis on employment.
Young people have needs • Reproductive health needs • Education needs • Employment/ entrepreneurship needs • Participation needs
What do young people want? • Education of good quality; • Adequate youth friendly reproductive health services; • More space to participate in the social, economic and political life of society; • More jobs, opportunities and policy environment that supports small scale youth businesses.
Meeting educational needs • Provide free, accessible education of good quality; • Train, retrain and recruit teachers; • Review curriculum; • Equip and build schools not six classroom blocks; • Pay teachers salaries • Invest in research, science and technology • Invest in girls education
Meeting Participation needs • Reserve quotas for youth participation in political and policy processes; • Engage youth as professionals and not just as recipients of agendas; • Include youth in delegations to national and international meetings on issues affecting them.
Meeting Reproductive Health needs • Invest in youth friendly reproductive health services; • Increasingly engage youth as peer educators to stop AIDS and pregnancy; • Provide free and friendly counselling and testing services as well as ARV for positive youth; • Implement the HIV/AIDS/ Family Life Education at all levels.
Meeting employment needs • Unemployment is linked to poverty, HIV/AIDS and other social vices; • Create micro-finance schemes to support young entrepreneurs in establishing private businesses; • Create mentorship and internship schemes to support youth businesses; • Track all government investments on youth entrepreneurship and create a database on youth employment; • Provide ICT training for youth and invest in rural telephony project; • Provide an enabling policy environment for youth businesses to thrive
Why invest in young people? • Demographic bonus • Innovation and leadership • Bear the brunt of poverty on their families and communities
NEEDS 2 and the MDGs • NEEDS 2 will seek to reduce poverty levels by 35 percent by 2011, the MDGs seek to halve poverty (50 percent) by 2015; • Achieving NEEDS 2 is critical to Nigeria’s achievement of the MDGs. This could be a groundbreaking achievement to become to\he first country in SSA to be so close to achieving the MDGs; • NEEDS 2 has to focus on key MDG indicators related to youth.
Quick wins from MDGs youth report • Expand access to SRH information including family planning services; • Provide free school meals in primary schools to encourage school retainership; • Governments should adopt and promote the concept of peer-led initiatives and encourage young people in schooling to undertake community based initiatives that encourage school participation.
NEEDS 2 and the MDGs In other to position Nigeria towards achieving the MDGs, investment priorities in NEEDS 2 should include; • Hunger and poverty reduction programs; • Universal basic education • Girl child education and empowerment of young women • Health care system that meets the SRH needs of youth • Contraception, family planning and sexuality education • Prevention of HIV and other diseases • Massive investment in affordable housing • In youth employment and ICT4D.
Recommendations • Create inter-ministerial collaboration and partnerships on youth development in Nigeria; • Coordination of youth interventions across ministries and agencies; • Make budgetary provisions to youth issues across government ministries; • Invest in multi-sectoral, multistakeholder youth-adult partnerships; • Fund the National Youth Development Fund; • Invest in the National Youth Service Corps.
Sanu • Etse • Imela • Omiete • I thank you all for your attention Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria Long live the Commonwealth