|
African leaders urged to invest in youths
2006-11-30 10:15:32
By Patrick Kisembo
African leaders have been advised to focus and invest in young people in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The call was made yesterday by UNFPA Deputy Country Representative Christopher Mwai Jonga at an annual seminar on Current Issues on Population and Development, held at the University of Dar es Salaam.
”Today many groups are excluded from the development agenda and these include very young adolescents, married children, street children and adolescents living alone without parents,” Jonga said.
He said the leaders must ensure that they work directly with young people and support their participation and leadership in order to achieve the MDGs by 2015.
The UNFPA Deputy Country Representative said there were two reasons why leaders should invest in young people.
”The first reason is that there are 1.5 billion young people in developing countries between the ages of 10 to 24 and they deserve their fair share.
They are the future and even more importantly they are the present,” he said.
The second reason, he said, is the fact that five of the MDGs cover areas in, which young people are directly involved and the goals would not be achieved unless there is a focus on youth,
Young people constitute nearly one third of the total population of developing countries and are a dynamic force for change.
He noted that more money has to be spent on the education, health and employment of youth.
In his opening remarks Prof Maurice Mbago, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at UDSM said there must be a push concerning human socio-development for the countries to reach the MDGS.
”The major concerns are on education, health, poverty, gender balance, food security and overall economic growth and socio-economic development,” he said.
He noted that the increasing poverty and increasing conflicts over resources, increasing urbanization without adequate development in infrastructure and employment to enable the urban areas to accommodate the growing population were, but a few of the common issues that have been taking place.
Prof Mbago said the issue of poverty particularly at the household level needs a better understanding and keen consideration in the light of current human development needs and environmental constraints and challenges faced today.
|
