27 September 2013: Outcome of the Youth Pre‐Conference to the Africa Conference on Population and Development (ICPD)

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Health

1. Governments should renew their commitment and accelerate implementation of the Abuja declaration on allocating 15 percent of national budgets on health, with specific allocation towards Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) programming for all young people.

2. Governments and development partners should strengthen youth engagement and participation in national health budget planning, implementation, tracking and performance evaluation.

3. Scale up access to comprehensive and youth friendly health information and services for young people including marginalized and most at risk groups such as Persons with Disabilities, people in rural areas and the urban‐poor through a rights‐based approach regardless of sex, age, HIV status or sexual orientation.

4. Scale up or integrate a skills‐based, age‐appropriate, gender‐sensitive and quality comprehensive sexuality education for both in and out of school youth, and mobilize support among community gatekeepers (parents, religious and traditional leaders).

5. Governments need to increase investments into research and population data to:  Inform design and implementation of rights‐based health interventions for young people, in particular marginalized groups.  Ensure appropriate allocation of the health budget, especially to adolescent and youth SRH programs.

6. Strengthen male involvement as advocates, clients and partners on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights, including in the promotion of gender equity and safeguarding sexual and reproductive rights of young women and girls within communities.

7. Governments should revise policies and laws that criminalize safe abortion services and implement programs that ensure young women's access to safe and comprehensive abortion care.

8. Ensure young people’s universal access to high quality comprehensive SRH services through the provision of but not limited to:  Modern family planning methods including condoms and emergency contraceptive.  Maternal health services.  Cervical and breast cancer screening.

9. Governments must uphold and protect young people’s sexual and reproductive health rights as human rights within national laws, policies and programs.

10. Increase mobilization and participation of communities ‐ specifically young people, women, religious and traditional leaders ‐ in health policies and programs.

11. Formulate, review and adapt laws and policies that accelerate implementation of SRH services for all young people in line with the Maputo Plan of Action and the African Youth Charter.

12. Remove all legal barriers that hinder young people’s universal access to comprehensive SRH information, services and commodities.

 

Education

1. Improve access to a rights‐based education, including formal, informal and non‐formal,  hich meets the needs of all young people including girls and marginalised groups such as PWDs, PLHIV, LGBTIs and those living in rural areas through a school environment that is conducive, safe and includes appropriate infrastructure, teaching methods and materials.

2. Governments should ensure the improvement of educational systems and structures in partnership with stakeholders including civil society, the private sector and young people.

3. Governments should increase national budgetary allocation on education at all levels.

4. Governments need to invest in sustainable education that ensures that young people are enrolled in and complete basic, secondary and tertiary education including through sustained financial support.

5. Scale up access to comprehensive education at all levels which takes into account gender inequalities.

6. Integrate comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in school curricular that involves skills, knowledge, attitudes and a gender‐ analytical approach.

7. Regularly monitor and review educational policies and programs to improve quality and ensure relevance of education that empowers young people to gain relevant skills for employment and livelihoods, including promoting technical, vocational education and training (TVET) programs, making use of new technology that is applicable to current labour market trends and demands.

8. Provide regular and appropriate training, remuneration and retention incentives for teachers to improve the delivery of good quality education.

9. Develop and ensure full implementation and enforcement of policies to prevent all forms of school based violence including sexual violence that place emphasis on empowering students/pupils on the prevention and reporting of school based sexual violence and the provision of support to survivors.

10. Governments should ensure inter‐sectorial policy harmonization to ensure progressive education for all young people irrespective of their background.

 

Employment

1. Governments should increase accountability on policies, strategies and laws related to youth employment.

2. Governments should create an enabling environment for young people to participate in the development, implementation and review of laws and policies related to youth

employment.

3. Governments in partnership with the private sector and other stakeholders should increase access to financial, technical and other resources for young people including entrepreneurs to provide decent and sustainable employment.

4. Governments in partnership with academia, training institutions and employers should conduct regular research and review curricula to reflect labour market needs.

5. Governments should ensure the full enforcement of labour laws that protect the rights of young people including women, children and persons with special needs in

employment.

6. Governments in partnership with private sector and other stakeholders should create, scale‐up and support mechanisms to provide career guidance programs, mentorship and incubation centres for young people.

7. Governments should support youth contribution as value addition to creative industries such as the arts, music, entertainment, information technology as a means to job creation.

 

Inclusive Participation, Security and Governance

1. Governments should empower young people, regardless of their backgrounds and status, to meaningfully participate and engage in all stages of decision making, development planning and implementation of all programmes and policies, using a rights‐based approach.

2. Governments should review the structure and mechanism of the national youth councils and or youth parliaments to make them more effective in pushing the youth development agenda and facilitate the proportionate representation of young women and girls in leadership positions within the youth councils and youth parliaments.

3. Governments in partnership with young people, CSOs and other stakeholders, should create a monitoring and accountability mechanism to track government’s commitment to population and development issues (including SRHR).

4. Increase the participation of young people and women in governance and leadership structures to ensure proportionate representation.

5. African governments should involve young people in concerted and coordinated efforts to prevent and respond to conflict and terrorism at national, regional and global level.

6. African governments should establish mechanisms and systems for the prevention of, and responses to gender based violence in conflict and post conflict settings and create

safer public spaces for young people, especially young women and children.