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Every year on 12 August, leaders around the world commemorate International Youth Day. On this day, powerful figures have praised the contributions of young people. They have called for more decision-making opportunities for youth. Then they have continued to run the show.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
But youth are ready for more.<\/p>\n
There are 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24. They are a quarter of the global population, coming of age in a rapidly changing political, social and economic landscape. And they are demanding more from their governments and leaders: they want a seat at the table.<\/p>\n
UNFPA agrees. UNFPA is launching \u201cMy Body, My Life, My World<\/a>,\u201d a strategy that aims to help empower young people to make their own choices and determine their own futures. They, in turn, will be able to shape and improve the world around them.\u00a0<\/p>\n And to commemorate International Youth Day, UNFPA is highlighting the voices of eight young people from around the world. Together, their experiences demonstrate some of the connections between their rights, their bodies, their lives and our world.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n My body<\/strong><\/p>\n Leaders agree that sexual and reproductive health and rights are necessary for achieving sustainable development. But all too often, young people lack the information and care they need to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infection (STIs), unintended pregnancy and other life-altering risks.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “I became pregnant at 14 years old. I did not know about contraceptive methods. At high school, I still had not been given the talks.\u201d \u2013 Angie, Peru<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Angie\u2019s only exposure to family planning information had come from her peers. \u201cI did not have information at school. I did not talk about it with my mother either,”\u00a0she said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n On the other side of the world, Takhona faced the same issues.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cWithout education, there is just nothing in this world.\u201d \u2013 Takhona, Eswatini<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Like Angie, she was not taught about sexual and reproductive health in school. \u201cI did not I didn\u2019t know about pregnancy and HIV and STIs,\u201d she said. But she learned how to keep herself safe through the UNFPA-supported programme\u00a0Safeguard Young People<\/a>. Today, she is an advocate,helping to share this information with her community. \u201cI\u2019m looking to my own very bright future,\u201d she told UNFPA.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Accurate reproductive health information also empowered Elizabeth Ayumpou Balang to make informed choices about motherhood.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI decide for myself.\u201d \u2013 Elizabeth, South Sudan<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cIf I follow cultural norms, I am not supposed to practice family planning,\u201d\u00a0she told UNFPA<\/a>. But after having one child as a teenager, she wanted to go back to school, and her husband was supportive.\u00a0<\/p>\n Today, Elizabeth is a teacher, and she brings these lessons to her classroom: \u201cWe teach these subjects so they become aware of gender issues and their rights, especially the girls.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n My life<\/p>\n<\/p>\n When young people are able to secure their health, and when they are supported with education and opportunities, they can overcome all kinds of barriers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cAspirations in life drive young girls like me to push forward even though we face challenges every day.\u201d \u2013Shaina, Philippines<\/strong><\/p>\n These young people are also better equipped to demand their rights. \u201cIt means a great deal to me and many other girls that our voices are heard,\u201d\u00a0Shaina told UNFPA<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Education strengthened Ghalia<\/a>\u2019s* resilience, as well. She dropped out of school when her family fled the violence in Syria. But she felt her life turn around when she enrolled in a literacy course.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI feel stronger and independent knowing that I will learn to read and write. Now I have hope for the future.\u201d \u00a0\u2013 Ghalia*, Syria<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n In Ethiopia,\u00a0Salia saw her horizons expand<\/a>\u00a0thanks to vocational training. Through a girls\u2019 empowerment programme, started raising livestock, and the resulting income has helped her avoid child marriage.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI have become self-sufficient.\u201d \u2013 Salia, Ethiopia<\/strong><\/p>\n My world<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Healthy, informed and supported youth are able to effect positive change in their communities and countries.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n After participating in a leadership workshop in Nepal,\u00a0Sangita started running a girls\u2019 group<\/a>that campaigns against gender-based violence and child marriage.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe knowledge I acquired from this training has helped me give a voice to other girls so that they can take ownership of their lives and develop their leadership and skills.\u201d \u2013 Sangita, Nepal<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n And in Uganda, Matovu Badru Kasozi learned healthy behaviours and business skills from a youth programme. Today, he teaches other young people about their health and rights.<\/p>\n He also runs his own small business, and is able to provide employment to other young people.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI am able to use my capital to pay my workers and put back into my business.\u201d \u2013 Matovu, Uganda\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n He wants all young people to feel emboldened to choose their own path. \u201cYou have to know how you prepare your life, how you fight for your life.\u201d<\/p>\n *Name changed for privacy and protection<\/em><\/p>\n Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).<\/i> Every year on 12 August, leaders around the world commemorate International Youth Day. On this day, powerful figures have praised the contributions of young people. They have called for more decision-making opportunities for youth. Then they have continued to run the show. But youth are ready for more. There are 1.8 billion young people between […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":188473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4934],"tags":[258,256,9428,4936,5211,10633,8485,257,6321,254,5093,7720],"class_list":["post-39820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-burkina-faso","tag-africa","tag-africa-news","tag-bodies","tag-burkina-faso-news","tag-charge","tag-helping","tag-lives","tag-news","tag-people","tag-south-africa-today","tag-world","tag-young"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/h3>\n
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Source<\/a>
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South Africa Today Africa \u2013 West Africa Burkina Faso<\/a> News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"