Dr Itumeleng Funani, Programme director
Chairperson of the National House of Traditional Leaders, Kgosi FP Kutama
Acting Director-General of the Department of Health, Dr Y Pillay
Chairperson of the National Youth Development Agency, Mr Andile Lungisa
Country Director for the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr T Goldman
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
It gives me a great pleasure to deliver a keynote address on the occasion of the youth risk behaviour survey launch, an important survey which is meant to guide us to improve our response to challenges facing young people in the country.
Youth development in South Africa is everyone’s responsibility including young people themselves. As we all know a society that does not take care and nurture its youth faces a bleak future. South Africa is home to 9 million 747 thousand young people who need our guidance. School children in particular by virtue of their age are vulnerable as they depend on family members, teachers and extended family.
As government working together with civil society we have a responsibility to create an environment conducive for all young people to enjoy their youth and live a healthy life. Government created the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) to specifically champion and advance the interests of young people in South Africa. I call upon all of society to engage with the agency and collectively develop programmes that can reduce young people’s vulnerability to dangers in our society.
The NYDA key to its mandate is:
* Advance youth development through guidance and support to initiatives across sectors of society and spheres of government
* Embark on initiatives that seek to advance the economic development of young people
* Develop and coordinate the implementation of the integrated youth development plan and strategy for the country.
It is inherent within its mandate to ensure that young people live a healthy life and have access to education to be economically empowered. The findings we are launching today will go a long way in ensuring that the NYDA develops, working with government departments and society, well informed programmes responsive to the needs of young people.
Government has identified a number of priorities which we believe can take the country into a higher developmental path if implemented effectively. These priorities enable government and society to address the challenges in education and health for our programmes to make a meaningful impact. As President Jacob Zuma outlined in his State of the Nation Address we are building a performance orientated state measured according to performance outcomes.
Health and education have been identified as key priorities which will impact on all of government activities in the long term. If the challenges faced in education and health are addressed, South Africans will live a long and healthy life and will be better educated to respond to the skills development and economic growth objectives. As the
Department of Monitoring and Evaluation we have a responsibility to ensure that we work with both departments and the rest of government to improve the health and education systems to produce the outcomes we want.
The findings of this survey should be critically analysed and used to develop and implement interventions that accurately target the issues identified or a cluster of them. The department of health is committed to ensure that the health profile of our society is improved and have developed a 10 point plan to respond to some of the challenges identified by the survey. Government welcomes the study and will also encourage the rest of society to engage with the survey and make sure that we help and protect young people in our homes, places of work and in their learning institutions against these dangers.
Traditionally health policy decisions were made on measurements of mortality. However, events in our recent history have demonstrated that our future health depends on the behaviours we engage in during childhood and adolescence. The survey is focused on behaviours of young people between the grades of 8 to 11 majority of them are still in schools and vulnerable to risks. The national study conducted among 10 000 learners in 2008 is also focused on risk behaviours related to infectious and chronic diseases, injury and trauma, mental health, alcohol and illegal drug use.
The findings indicate that 38 percent of learners had reported ever having sex, 16 percent after consuming alcohol and 14 percent after taking drugs. These highlights the highly unacceptable trends young people are faced with in society which all of us should protect them against. These are our children who still need our protection and guidance. Programmes of government should begin to turn these figures around and develop initiative that can discourage and detract young people from such risks.
The crime levels in the country have reached unacceptable levels and the schools have not been an exception, 15 percent of learners are reported to have carried weapons and 19 percent belonged to gangs and nine percent were reported to have carried weapons on school premises. On suicide related behaviours 24 percent reported having experienced feelings of sadness or hopelessness, 21 percent had considered or attempted to commit suicide. 50 percent of learners also reported to have ever drunk alcohol and 30 percent having smoked.
These figures are a demonstration of a society which is failing in its responsibility to take care of its children. They also demonstrate that we have abdicated our responsibilities as parents and society.
The risks that these young people are engaged and are subjected to by society require our immediate attention. Working with the Departments of Health, Education and Police we will ensure that schools are protected from criminality and that a good environment exists for learning. We need to re-evaluate our interventions and ensure that they respond directly to these challenges.
We must also work very hard to create an environment free of violence in schools, our homes and in society in general. We must mobilise community based organisation and communities at large to work with government in addressing these issues.
The survey will also serve as a mechanism for evaluating if interventions we have introduced in our priority areas are making a difference. We must continue to monitor and track the prevalence of youth risk behaviours over time and identify those groups that need targeted interventions. We believe that if we could have discipline in schools and have teachers teaching and learners learning we will minimise these risks. This does not attempt to put the blame on schools only but also on society.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Department will use this data and work in partnership with the Medical Research Council (MRC) in future to gather similar data working with relevant departments to be able to introduce necessary interventions that will reduce the vulnerability of young people.
We will also present the findings to the National Planning Commission as it starts to grapple with developing a national plan which will be collectively owned by society to respond to challenges we face as a country.
The findings will also inform policy development and planning in departments and provinces. The management of schools and hospitals are a provincial responsibility and it is also imperative that we begin to engage with provinces to alert them of these challenges.
In conclusion, let me take this opportunity to thank, the Department of Health for having supported the survey and the Medical Research Council for having managed this initiative. Let me also extend our gratitude and sincere thanks to the centre for disease control and prevention for having funded the initiative. As the Minister responsible for Youth Development, I will ensure that the NYDA responds to these challenges and commit myself available to champion any initiative that seeks to improve the conditions of our youth.
It is through initiatives like these that government programmes can be better streamlined to effectively respond to hardships faced by our people. The findings fit very well with our resolve to produce the outcomes society expects.
Working together we can collectively create a conducive environment for children to grow in.
I thank you.
Issued by: The Presidency
20 April 2010
