during the official opening of a Youth Centre at Jerico in Madibeng
21 September 2007
Programme Director, our government in recognising the importance of youth
has created the National Youth Policy which seeks to ensure a co-ordinated and
holistic response by all stakeholders involved in youth development programmes
and activities to the major issues facing young people today. This requires the
establishment, maintenance, collaboration and coordination of institutions
engaged in youth development, including those which directly or indirectly
affect the services, opportunities and capacities of our young people. This
will involve the three levels of government as well as the wide range of
non-government institutions.
Furthermore, the National Youth Policy states that, all provincial
governments shall be required to fulfil the following functions in regards to
the development of youth:
* to develop provincial youth development policies which identify the major
needs, challenges, aspirations and opportunities facing young women and men,
and to develop a comprehensive policy response within the framework provided by
the National Youth Policy
* to establish structures and programmes which respond to the needs,
opportunities, aspirations and potential of all young women and men in the
province. Such initiatives should complement and support national visions,
goals and strategies, whilst recognising provincial variations
* to work in partnership with national, provincial and local youth development
agencies to develop and maintain facilities which can be used by young men and
women
* to establish mechanism for continued consultation with the youth sector
within the province as well as nationally.
Our role as the department of health therefore becomes critical in this
regard. We need to show commitment and to take responsibility of health needs
and life skills development of the youths and adolescents in the province. We
therefore believe that youth centres are well positioned to serve as centres
that will assist us to fulfil this objective in many ways. This youth centre
that we are officially launching today, is the second revamped youth centre
equipped with the state of the art computers with access to Internet. The first
youth centre was officially opened by the department at Ventersdorp in the
Southern District.
Today's event also follows the launch of the South African youth wellness
and fitness charter launched nationally in 2005 which stipulates
responsibilities and priorities of the department regarding the needs of the
youth. The department's responsibilities in this regard include physical
activities, teenage pregnancy, and reproductive health rights, contraception,
Sexual Rights Chatter and skills development. In compliance and support to the
charter, the department has handed computers to nine functioning youth centres
in the province. Each youth centre in all districts received three sets of
computers each as part of capacitating them on skills development.
The youth centres we have, provide services such as youth health care
related services like counselling, pregnancy, STIs, HIV and AIDS, communicable
diseases and health education just to mention a few. We are opening this youth
centre today to expand on these services in the entire province and to ensure
that all the youth of our province benefit.
We also need to look into the aspect of youth development in a broader sense
because today it is the responsibility of all sectors of our society to strive
for developmental opportunities of our youth. To adequately and comprehensively
address the challenges facing youth development, it requires that we strengthen
youth institutions such as the National Youth Commission, South African Youth
Council and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund, that we improve co-ordination between
these structures, ensure that they function as an integrated whole and that
indeed these structures ultimately empowers other established youth
substructures like the youth centres. If these main structures themselves are
not as integrated as they should be, it will be difficult for them to address
the challenges facing the youth and to provide adequate support to the youth
centres. As government, we see youth centres as key important reservoir of
youth empowerment and development. We need to ensure that established youth
bodies like the National Youth Services and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund truly
reach out to the youth centres and that they contribute to the enhancement of
young people so that they can participate meaningfully in the political, social
and economic life of the country. These bodies should therefore assist by
linking the youth centres to various sectors for capacity building that
includes funding.
Of course as the Department of Health we are more concerned about the health
of our youth. We also concede that underdevelopment and lack of orientation on
life skills and informed lifestyles can severely hamper one's health. So as the
Department of Health we believe that many unwanted pregnancies, STIs and HIV
and AIDS can be prevented through the provision of reproductive health services
and youth friendly services, in conjunction with other strategies to advance
the position of youth in society. It has been demonstrated that the provision
of reproductive health services to sexually active youth, greatly reduce both
the incidence of unwanted pregnancies, STIs, HIV and AIDS and of unsafe
termination of pregnancies. The success of these services is, however,
dependent on the quality of care provided and the promotion of healthy
lifestyles. Hence, quality of care is an important area of focus for the
Department of Health and will continue to increase access to health care.
The Department of Health has identified youth, women and adolescence as the
critical area for intervention, in promoting healthy lifestyles. This will be
achieved through promoting a safe and supportive environment as it plays an
important role in influencing one's behaviour, it include relationships with
families, communities, social norms and cultural practices, mass media,
accessibility of key opportunities and policies (including legislation). The
interventions will be implemented in different settings such as in the home, at
school, in health facilities, in the workplace, street, with community based
organisations and residential centres. Provision of contraceptives as outlined
in the contraceptive policy is one of the interventions within the health
facilities and youth centres.
Government is now more than even paying urgent attention to the
implementation of youth programs. The National Youth Service Programme is also
being speedily implemented in order to create hope among youth and enhance
their employability. At the same time, government will ensure enhanced
implementation and monitoring of the programs adopted with regard to youth
employment and skills development as announced by the President.
The South African Aids Youth Programme will continue to be strengthened and
provided with leadership and be in line with the National Health Policies. The
youth intervention on HIV and AIDS must continue to raise awareness and focus
on prevention, disease management, home-based care, food security and provision
and support. As a department, we are very much humbled by the mobilised youth
of volunteers who continue to assist us in care and support through various
caregiver groups. We will therefore continue to capacitate health workers and
care givers dealing with youth health services at youth centres to ensure that
they are friendly to youth.
Programme Director, allow me in conclusion to emphasise that we must
therefore earnestly look at all the aspects of youth development particularly
around capacitating and empowering youth centres. We must be able stock all our
youth centres with developmental information and communication that is more
geared towards empowering them for enhanced life skills and education. These
youth centres must provide a platform for enlightenment of the youth on
available opportunities and avenues to empower themselves with skills
development, sports, recreational activities, income generating projects and
many other opportunities that exists in our country today.
I thank you!
Issued by: Department of Education, North West Provincial Government
21 September 2007
Source: North West Provincial Government (http://www.nwpg.gov.za)
