A meeting held from 4-6 July 2016, in South Africa’s Johannesburg, brought together a small group of the Partnership’s Adolescent and Youth constituency members. The aim of this meeting was to facilitate a decision on three key themes ,Strategic Thinking and Prioritisation,Form Follows Function’ & ‘Completing the Adolescent and Youth Portfolio’.
PMNCH workplan meeting in South Africa’s Johannesburg
in the first day they provided capacity building on various areas in response to sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent Health (SRMNCAH) challenges. These areas included the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health; the Accelerated Action for Health of Adolescents; and a space for the AY constituency to identify top priorities. Day 2 provided an overview of the Partnership’s Business, Strategic and Work Plans, among other areas, and an opportunity for the AY Constituency to formalise its structure, membership criteria and operational guidelines. Day 3 focused on the AY Constituency’s contribution to The Partnership’s workplan.
It is estimated that the population of adolescents and youth (aged 10 to 24) is in the region of 1.8 billion, which is around a quarter of the world’s population. 70% of preventable adult deaths are linked to risk behaviours that start or are reinforced in adolescence. Young people are shaping the social and economic development in their countries and regions and are critical to the development agenda. Securing their health and well-being is of utmost urgency, and their health is a matter of human rights.
The Partnership has been actively engaging youth and adolescents and in the mobilisation to achieve the targets in the Global Strategy, the Partnership’s Board in October 2015 created an adolescent and youth constituency (AY) and agreed for the constituency to be systematically represented across all the other constituencies. Members of the AY constituency are representatives from youth-led organisations and networks advocating for sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescents’ Health.
In May 2016 it was agreed the AY constituency would be represented with two Board seats to ensure that the views of young people, including adolescents and youth are reflected in the Partnership’s work and governance system for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and its roadmap–the Global Strategy.
