A new global plan for sustainable development will take centre stage at this year’s United Nation’s General Assembly, but the role that young people will play is still unclear.
A new global plan for sustainable development will take centre stage at this year’s United Nation’s General Assembly, but the role that young people will play is still unclear.
There are 1.8 billion young people living in the world. They form a quarter of the globe’s population. It is critical that development initiatives in individual countries and communities harness the potential that young people possess in meeting the proposed targets of the new sustainable development goals.
Tanaka Chitsa, a university student in Zimbabwe, says: “The first step in engaging youths is to empower them and I am happy because that is well identified in the draft set of goals and targets. What is left is for countries to come up with policies and strategies that will work towards meeting those targets.”
Youth participation in global development
According to the United Nations, the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), to be adopted when the UN General Assembly meets in September this year, will: “Stimulate action over the next fifteen years in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet.” This includes the realisation of human rights for all, including gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls (Transforming Our World report, UN).
Countries are already positioning policies to come in line with the proposed goals and targets, and there is need to prioritise youth participation in this.
Although the SDGs will build on the successes of the millennium development goals (MDGs), which expire this year, the MDGs provided little opportunity for participation from young people. This is something that has to change when the SDGs come into force in January 2016, and a lot more needs to be done to ensure young people can contribute meaningfully to the global development agenda.
Charles Siwela, the national director of Youth Engage in Zimbabwe, says: “In the SDGs, we [youth organisations dealing with HIV] have an opportunity to ensure that youth issues are prioritised in the means of implementation, and that youth are engaged as leaders, partners and not just as beneficiaries of services.”
Young people lack knowledge of development goals
But Brian Mudumi, the leader of Zimbabwe-China Youth Forum, believes there will be challenges in ensuring youth participation. He says: “The youth generally are oblivious of the MDGs and let alone the proposed SDGs and it is crucial that they are educated about them. That becomes the starting point of engaging this marginalised group.
“Until our governments are investing towards educating their [young] people about the global development and the role that each can play, I do not think we should expect much from young people now.”
Torai Mapora, a young woman from Harare, Zimbabwe, agrees. She says: “I am sure that my friends and I would love to play a role towards our better future but we cannot do that since we do not know what we are contributing to. If we knew what we are racing towards them I am positive we would be doing better.”
Young people and HIV
One of the burning issues in the SDGs particularly relevant to young people are the targets relating to HIV, as AIDS is the second leading cause of adolescent deaths globally, and the number one cause in Africa (UNAIDS).
According to the Millennium Development Goals Report of 2014, 781 million adults and 126 million young people worldwide lack basic literacy skills, and of this number 60 per cent are women. This lack of knowledge is identified by the report as something that contributes to the challenges faced by young people, such as being at high risk of contracting HIV.
For example, in sub-Saharan Africa – the region in the world that is most affected by HIV, the report notes that: “Only 39 per cent of young men and 28 per cent of young women aged between 15 and 24 had comprehensive knowledge of HIV.”
Ivy Rutize, from the Global Youth Foundation Zimbabwe, says: “The United Nations tried its best to accommodate us, starting from grass roots level and marginalised young people. However the major problems currently faced within our society is that youths are not given enough room to contribute positively to the realisation of the development goals.”
To really enable young people in Zimbabwe to make a difference over the next 15 years, perhaps what is needed is more projects like the Link Up project, which is run by a consortium of partners, including the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.
Through Link Up, young people from around the world living with and most affected by HIV are championing their vision for realising and claiming their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and setting their priorities for HIV and SRHR integration.
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