Presentation Transcript

1. ADOLESCENT AND YOUTH ISSUES

   2nd Dialogue and Retreat of the Alliance of Southern Civil Society in Global Health Nokhwezi Hoboyi Treatment Action Campaign, South Africa 06 March 2012
2. ICPD Beyond 2014 The PoA of ICPD beyond 2014 calls for: “..the protection and promotion of the rights of adolescents to reproductive health education, information and care provided with privacy, confidentiality, respect and informed consent.”
3. What are the issues? There are cross cutting issues for adolescents and the youth and they are Sexual and Reproductive Health Education Poverty Gender issues Equality Youth participation in the ICPD Beyond 2014 and other regional processes
4. Issues continued SRHR – Countries have committed to ensuring the provision of Comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health Link SRH and access to Education – The retention of youth and adolescents in schools; the link of service provision on Health and Education Quality of SRHR education and services in the region and within individual countries Sex and Sexuality education – how these affect teen pregnancy; addressing the issues of sexuality and sexual minorities Violation of Human Rights – early/child marriage, child headed households It is important to note that young people’s health is not limited to sexual practices only!!!
5. Gender Based Violence and Access to Education: Poverty exacerbates engagement in risky behaviours Poverty; Unemployment and societal gender issues Marginalised youth (Most At Risk Youths – child sexual exploitation; LGBTI groups; substance abusers; out of school; etc) – We need to capture the voices of these groups The need for youth engagement beyond provision of a comprehensive SRH package Existing laws and policies – the need for Law Reform Leadership development the youth and adolescents to own “own issues and advocate for own policies”
6. YOUTH AND ADOLESCENTS 10 – 14 year olds – forgotten group? We need to consult with this age group in order to incorporate their issues Policies and services for young boys and girls – are these visible? publicised for the people they were tailored for? If not why not Ministries of Education and Ministries of Health – lack of collaboration Recognition of adolescent challenges Understanding the politics affecting adolescents and the barriers to youth accessing services and claiming their space in policy making platforms Who controls the sexuality of adolescents? Who decided for the youth(tokenism)? Youth involvement and participation
7. YOUTH AND ADOLESCENT LEADERSHIP BEYOND 2014 Is the youth organised? How? There is a lack of exchange programmes; sharing of information; limited networking spaces Inadequate mobilisation and raising awareness on laws protecting the youth and adolescents and community education/engagement Who are we accountable to and who do we hold accountable? Sustainability of advocacy programmes – in country and regionally There is a need for continuous engagement of youth at Country level and building of local expertise in different categories How do we improve the relationship between young people and the UN entities – interact more at country level
8. CONCLUSION Link the regional and global commitments (i.e. MPoA; African Youth Charter; ICPD; MDG’s and other frameworks) and align them accordingly Why should we wait for five years to review the ICPD and other declarations? Streamline ICPD into our different organisational agendas and continuously monitor with indicators Encourage full participation of young people in organising platforms of engagement AVOID youth Tokenism!!
9. NDIYABULELA!ASANTE SANA!THANK YOU!