ZIMBABWEAN youths will tomorrow join more than 1,8 billion young people from around the world in the global change campaign.
It will be the world’s largest gathering for adolescents at the Zimbabwe adolescents health and well-being symposium at Crowne Plaza Monomotapa Hotel in Harare.
Hundreds of young people, campaigners and partners will come together to advocate the much-needed investment and support for young people’s health and well-being.
Health and Child Care minister Douglas Mombeshora as well as representative from partners such as My Age Zimbabwe, Unesco, UN Population Fund, Unicef, UNAids, World Health Organisation, Plan International, SRHR Africa Trust, among others, will grace the event.
“We are coming together to ensure that our leaders are committed to making positive changes that will benefit us and that they’re held accountable for keeping their promises.
“We want to see concrete plans, commitments, and resources being put in action so that we can all live healthy, happy lives,” My Age Zimbabwe executive director Onward Gibson Chironda said.
“By coming together with thousands around the world, as part of the 1,8 billion Young People for Change Campaign worldwide, we can make sure that youth voices are heard, and that we’re making a real impact.”
The event will be one of more than 100 national events taking place across the world, bringing together youth and adolescents, advocates, and global decision-makers.
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It follows the world’s biggest global virtual event for adolescents, The Global Forum for Adolescents, which was held on October 11 and 12 this year.
The event unites the voices of one million young people to rally behind new policies, more investment, and greater accountability.
Through the 1,8 Billion Young People for Change Campaign, the youths seek to secure political and financial commitments towards improved adolescent health and well-being.
The symposium will unveil the Agenda for Action for Adolescents, informed by the findings from the What Young People Want survey, the largest ever survey into what young people want for their health and well-being.
“So far, over one million young people globally have taken part, and results in real-time are available through the What Young People Want Digital Dashboard, enabling users to analyse data and trends according to topic, gender, age and country.
“The dashboard is an open-access public tool for students, young change-makers, national policymakers, and journalists seeking to understand and address youth demands at national and global levels.
“The dashboard’s data is directly collected from survey responses and not sourced from official country statistics or data sets,” the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) said yesterday.
PMNCH executive director Helga Fogstad said the Zimbabwe adolescents health and wellbeing symposium was a key milestone for the 1,8 billion Young People for Change Campaign.
“Adolescence is a critical stage of development with positive outcomes not only for adolescents but for people of all ages. Ensuring adolescents’ well-being is critical to the achievement of a sustainable future for all, requiring cross-sectoral approaches that respond to the multi-faceted nature of their development,” she said.
“Efforts made to ensure adolescent well-being today, especially for females, will yield a triple dividend for adolescents now, in their future lives, and for generations to come.”
