A communiqué reached at the end of the Pre- youth conference of the 5th National HIV/AIDS conference held on 1st and 2nd of May 2010, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja- Nigeria.
According to the 2006 population census, adolescents (ages 10-19) comprised 23 percent of the population, while young people (ages 10-24) constitutes about a third of the Nigerian population. Their health status is therefore of significant importance in the overall health and development of the country. In the context of health as a holistic concept, there is the need to address the various dimension of young people’s health physical, social, mental as well as spiritual. There are major health challenges confronting young people in Nigeria some examples are sexual and reproductive health and rights, nutrition, substance abuse, unemployment, accidents and violence.
The youth pre-conference of the 5th national HIV/AIDS Conference was attended by over 200 young people from 36 states in Nigeria and FCT and across Africa, having critically deliberated on relevant health issues and development affecting them have therefore unanimously resolved to present the following outcomes of the pre- youth conference to the bodies and authorities concerned:
Government
· That the government should domesticate the entire international protocols, policies and resolutions on young people in Nigeria and Africa as regards to young people’s health and development.
· That government should ensure adequate sensitisation of young people on available policies and also ensure accessibility and complete implementation.
· That government should take leadership in making needed resources available for youth health and development.
· That all government programmes targeting young people should be all inclusive taking into consideration their specific needs and peculiarities.
Partners
· That development partners should increase support for youth programmes and strengthen of youth led institutions delivering services un HIV/AIDS
· That all programmes targeting young people should be all inclusive taking into consideration their specific needs and peculiarities.
·
Young people
· That young people be involved in planning, implementation, resource mobilization at the national and international
· That young people should utilize the opportunities they have to be informed and develop themselves
· That young people should take advantage of the media and ICT to advance advocacy issues
· That young people should take responsibility to familiarise themselves with policies and programmes that affects their health and development.
· That young people in positions of authority should demonstrate good leadership .
Emmanuel Gabari
Reporting for NFC
