By Inunonse Ngwenya. YWCA of Zambia.
One of the main reasons developing countries are unlikely to achieve many Millennium development goals and escape the persistence of poverty that plagues even poorer countries that still manage to achieve decent levels of economic growth, is a lack of government revenue towards paying for schools, hospitals, roads and public service. A recession in developing countries provides yet another excuse for them to renege on their overseas aid commitment and every drop of government revenue is important.
In almost every society in the world, young people get fewer opportunities than adults to make their voices heard in public arena. The 12th Article of the UN Convention on the Rights of the child states that every child has the right to express his or her opinion and be heard in all matters that affects them. Children have the right to say what they think should, when adults are making decisions that affect them and to have their opinion taken into account.
Education is a critical component of a healthy transition into adulthood. During childhood and adolescence, learning occurs more intensely than during other phases of life. During adolescence, young people develop physical and cognitive skills and acquire the knowledge and information necessary to becoming healthy, productive adults. Providing quality education in a safe environment and keeping children in school is a cross-cutting strategy that links different development priorities. For example, being in school has been associated with delays in the age of sex, marriage, and childbearing. Appropriate targeted policies and programs that help to keep young people enrolled throughout adolescence and connected to the social network that schools provide can have important impacts on their personal development and can minimize their vulnerabilities to the challenges that exist outside of the school environment and help them secure and reduce poverty levels.
Every Child has the right to the best possible health. Government must provide good health care, clean water, nutritious food and clean environment so that children can stay healthy.
Advocacy is a process of communication, or a set of actions targeted directly at the people who make decisions. Considering the amount of time people spend at work it makes sense that the workplace should provide information, education and services relating to Sexual reproductive health and rights issues. (SRHR) Knowledge for action for young women and girls for sure is the power to make a difference in our societies, so partner with us and be that change we want to see.
Youth policies, both those aimed at building capacity and those meant to mitigate the effects of poverty, must address the distinctive environments in which young people live. Close attention needs to be given to the differences between the social and economic circumstances of urban and rural areas. In cities and towns, educational and health resources are more readily available than in rural villages. Cities also present a more diverse set of income-earning opportunities. But it is far from obvious that young people especially those who are poor are in a position to take advantage of these urban resources and opportunities. For the urban poor, school enrolment rates fall well below the rates of wealthier urban residents. In multiple dimensions of health, the urban poor hardly fare better than rural villagers. To some, the diversity of urban living standards may be seen in a positive light, suggesting possibilities for upward mobility. But to many poor girls and boys, this same diversity may be interpreted quite differently, as evidence of an unbridgeable gulf between their circumstances and those of the urban elites. The social risks of city life may jeopardize both poor young people and those who are better off, as is clear from higher urban rates of HIV and AIDS.
We need a new crop of young women and girls in our societies to raise the struggle to preserve what is ours, a crop that will stop at nothing to achieve economic independence. We are all born as blank keys and as we grow our parents, environments, society are tools God uses to shape us and make us into the keys we ought to be.
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