- Experts in adolescent reproductive health from ten African countries converged today to share information and harmonise programming that can improve the lives of young people.
The meeting was opened by the Minister of Health Dr Richard Sezibera of Rwanda, also had representation from Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Niger, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia. In addition to UNFPA country teams, the meeting also included representatives of regional institutions, ministries and other international agencies, including UNICEF, UNESCO and WHO.
“Like other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, a majority of our people, are young… It only makes sense that our programming should focus on them,” said the minister. “Focusing on the sexual and reproductive health needs of youth may have unintended and unanticipated benefits in other sectors that may not be visible for some time.”
His country, he added, is investing in youth as a way to accelerate progress toward all of the Millennium Development Goals.
The main objective of the workshop was to guide country teams in developing action plans that will ensure delivery of comprehensive and intersectoral programming to empower young people and foster their successful transition to adulthood.
“This is a ‘how to’ meeting,” said UNFPA advisor Dr Asha Mohamud, in her opening remarks, and talked about the need to “bring our collective wisdom together so that we can replicate what works in other countries and modify what does not.”
The background for effective programming is outlined in UNFPA’s fourfold Framework for Action on Adolescents and Youth, which addresses population policy and poverty reduction, education, services, and youth leadership and participation.
The meeting is the first of 5 regional workshops that will take place throughout this year and 2010, said Dr Laura Laski, chief of UNFPA’s reproductive health branch. They aim to provide teams with the capacity and resources to influence policy and programming in their respective countries. One aspect of this is the participation of regional institutions. Their technical expertise in the regions is increasingly important to UNFPA now that it no longer has a system of country technical support teams, said Dr Laski.
Including different agencies was important strategically as well, said Benson Morah, the UNFPA interim representative in Rwanda, which is one of nine countries piloting the UN reform initiative ‘Delivering as One. “If we don’t coordinate our actions, sometimes we don’t achieve the results we hope,” he said.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
front page
| news
| countries
| archive
| currencies
| news alerts login
| about afrol News
| contact
| advertise
| español