Department joins International community to celebrate Population Day
Gauteng is considered the economic hub of the country and attracts international migrants as well as domestic migrants from rural provinces in the country. Last week Saturday, the Gauteng Department of Social Development celebrated International Population Day at Walter Sisulu Child and Youth Care Centre, Soweto.
The commemoration targeted youth in the Departmental institutions as well as from Non- Profit Organisations. The Population and Development Director, Andrew Manoto, said World Population Day seeks to increase people's awareness of various population issues such as the importance of family planning, gender equality, poverty, maternal health and human rights. The day was declared by the then-Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989.
"World Population Day is about countering any notion of "population control", ensuring that future generations never lose hard-won human rights achieved and strengthening the global rights and development frameworks that support it", said Manoto.
National Department of Social Development Chief Director for Population, Jacque Van Zyl, in addressing the gathering said we should not live anybody behind of opportunities and we need to recognise the human rights of everybody.
"When it comes to global people, as government and stakeholders we trying to ensure that each young person that grows in South Africa gets access to the opportunity that will assist him/her live a better life. Most importantly without education, the chance of living a full life is minimal and that includes development and health", Van Zyl said.
The Walter Sisulu Child & Youth Care Centre Head of Institution, Tsakani Maluleka, added that government needs to ensure that even during the state of disaster there's access to health care services, specifically, to children and youth so that we prevent the increase in teenage pregnancy, intensify our interventions around sexual reproductive health and teenage pregnancy.
On the day, young people were given a chance to debate about the population of the world, access to health during covid-19 and the challenges of youth on reproductive health and rights.
