2 nd Dialogue and Retreat of the Alliance of Southern Civil Society in Global Health Nokhwezi Hoboyi Treatment Action Campaign, South Africa 06 March 2012

 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.”

 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

 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!!!

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”

 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

 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

 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!!