Guggi Laryea Trade and Human Development The World Bank Rue Montoyer 10 1000 Brussels Belgium 5 January 2006 Subject: Recommendations to the World Development Report 2007 on Youth Dear Mr. Laryea, In December 2005 the World Bank released a draft outline for the World Development Report (WDR) 2007 and has invited interested stakeholders of the global development community to participate in the development of the report by providing constructive recommendations and comments. We, a group of youth and other organizations working strongly with youth on youth issues in the field of Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights, would like to take this opportunity to give our recommendations and views on the expected content of the report. First of all, we welcome the initiative of the World Bank to take up youth as their main focus area for this report. As stated in the UNFPA State of the World Population 2003: The largest generation of adolescents in history 1.2 billion strong is preparing to enter adulthood in a rapidly changing world. Their educational and health status, their readiness to take on adult roles and responsibilities, and the support they receive from their families, communities and governments will determine their own future and the future of their countries. And the WDR outline also confirms: development analysts have rightly emphasized that investment in basic health and education of children have the highest payoffs in poverty reduction and growth. 1 Therefore the need to address youth issues is almost self-evident when the main aim of the World Bank is poverty reduction. However, after reading the WDR outline, we found that there are several issues which need more attention, and we identified 7 recommendations that can help the WDR to become a stronger policy document on young people in development. 1. Promotion of Youth Participation A main argument in the outline is investing in youth is a prerequisite for development in the future. However, there is an oversight here: young people are also a resource and knowledge base for effective development of societies and have right to be involved in these processes. 2 They can be the force behind development. Young people can function as agents of change, as they are most receptive to new developments. Furthermore they can contribute as vital resources in many processes of decision- and policy-making, because youth often understand and experience both the cultural constraints and sensitivity of the issue discussed. 1 WDR 2007, Development and the Next Generation, OUTLINE, Page i. 2 The right to participation has been recognized internationally in The Convention of the Rights of the Child and the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994, paragraph 7.4 of the Program of Action.
In most developing countries young people are the largest proportion of the population and therefore most affected by policies on poverty reduction. It is essential to view young people in a productive and positive manner. In order to make this valuable resource available young people should be offered opportunities to participate, but also receive training to understand complex development issues and decision-making processes. In this way they can fully develop and exercise their citizenship and contribute effectively to civil society as called for in the WDR outline. 2. Access to reproductive health services and supplies Another vital issue for youth development is the acknowledgement of their needs on reproductive and sexual health and the provision of appropriate services. Emphasis on access to supplies such as condoms and contraceptives are essential for the promotion of healthy lifestyles. Moreover, young people, especially girls and young women, are most affected by sexual and reproductive ill-health which endangers their lives and their futures. Youth friendly services should be an integrated part of health systems, but without user fees. Costs and lack of access (due to distance, culture, travel cost and/or lack of privacy) is a major reason for young people not to visit a health clinic and receive the information and services they need. For girls and young women, this can also lead to turning to illegal and unsafe health practices. 3. Integration of HIV/AIDS and Sexual and Reproductive Health The acknowledgement of young people s health needs has to be included in an integrated approach to HIV/AIDS issues and sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Prevention plays a very important role in living a healthy and viable socio-economic life, whether this is prevention of an HIV infection or an unwanted pregnancy at a young age. Most important, the cost of prevention largely outweigh the direct and indirect costs to HIV/AIDS or an unwanted pregnancy. 3 4. Access to accurate information Part of prevention is young people s need for accurate information. In providing all the information necessary, young people will be able to make their own healthy and responsible choices and adapt this healthy lifestyle from a young age on. The importance of secondary education is mentioned in the WDR as one of the key factors to become a successful economic contributor to society. And especially during this time, sexuality education can play an important role in establishing this healthy behaviour. In countries such as Sweden and the Netherlands it has been shown that education and youth friendly services greatly reduced the number of unwanted teenage pregnancies, abortions, STD and HIV infections. And negotiating skills, for example, taught during sexuality education can serve a person in other parts of his or her social economic life. 5. Diversity of youth and relationships In the beginning of the outline the differences in population transition are shown between the different developing countries, giving them different policy needs. As there are differences between countries in population growth, the heterogeneity of youth can differ even inside a school class. Diverse youth require different approaches towards their needs. There is a large focus on young married couples and their need for healthy sexuality and family planning in the outline. And although their needs need to be met too, many young people engage in all kinds of relationships before and outside marriage, including sexual relationships. Therefore a wider range of groups need to be served and other forms of relationships acknowledged in the WDR to prevent exclusion and subsequent ineffective policy and programs. 6. Gender equality, young women and girls There needs to be an explicit focus on the effects of gender inequality on the ability of young girls and women to take part in education, economic and social life and their possibilities to lead a healthy life based on their own sexual and reproductive choices. The recent UNFPA report underlines again that investing in women and girls has a triple pay off: 1. It immediately improves the families economic opportunities, 2. It empowers their reproductive role and creates better health choices, and 3. It improves the chances of the next generation immensely for a more productive and healthy life. 4 3 UNFPA State of the World Population 2003, Making 1 billion count: investing in adolescents health and rights, pages 57-59 4 UNFPA State of the World Population, Chapter 2 Critical Investments, Large Pay Offs
Without these improvements young people cannot become valuable human capital and fulfil the promise of the next generation. 7. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Investing in Youth and SRHR The MDGs are part of the world development agenda. However, without investment in SRH and rights of youth, the MDGs cannot be reached. Especially for MDG 3 - Promotion of gender equality & women empowerment, MDG 4 - Reduction of Child Mortality, MDG 5 - Improve Maternal Health and MDG 6 - Combat HIV/AIDS. For all these Goals, investing in SRHR of young people is essential. As discussed under point 6 above, gender equality is crucial for the economic and social opportunities a young person has. For MDGs 4 & 5, improving reproductive health of young girls and women can have an immediate effect on their chances of survival and economic life. The main cause of death among 14-19 year old girls is pregnancy related. However, the WHO has calculated that providing basic maternal and newborn health services in developing countries costs an average of US$3 per capita per year. The total cost of saving a mother s or infant s life when complications arise is about US$230. 5 Finally, regarding MDG 6, HIV/AIDS is a crisis that has hit the youngest generation hardest. Large segments of youth communities are infected and affected by the pandemic. Specifically, young women and girls have rapidly increasing infection rates in developing countries. To bring this crisis to a halt, investment in prevention and care for young people on SRHR issues is desperately needed. In addition, to the above recommendations we of course are available to provide more information and would like to offer our help with the further development of this report. If there is need for further input on special sections on SRHR issues and young people in the coming WDR we are more than willing to function as a valuable resource. Also we would welcome your comments on the recommendations and are interested in receiving a response on how our recommendations will be reflected in the final WDR 2007. Yours sincerely, On behalf of Lentswe La Rona, YouAct, Youth Coalition and World Population Foundation, Edford G. Mutuma Lentswe La Rona Young African Advocates for Rights (YAAR) Marije Nederveen Executive Coordinator YouAct Rikke Engaard Olsen Steering Committee member Youth Coalition Yvonne Bogaarts Senior Advocacy Officer World Population Foundation This letter is supported by the following organizations (see also following page): CHOICE for Youth & Sexuality Equilibre & Population DSW, German Foundation for World Population ICOMP Interact International Development Asia Pacific Alliance Marie Stopes International New Zealand Family Planning Association Network for Asian and Pacific Youth Ponton, Polish Youth Group Population Action International Seg og Samfund, Danish Family Planning Organization Young Positive Aurelie Gal-Regniez Karen Hoehn Maya Faisal Naomi Foxwood Eileen Kelly Patricia Hindmarsh Eileen Kelly Agniva Lahiri Monika Nowak Suzanne Ehlers Jaqueline Bryld Marlies Geurts 5 World Health Organization, Mother-Baby Package Costing Spreadsheet (Geneva: WHO, 1997).
Network for Asian and Pacific Youth Correspondence regarding this letter can be send to: WPF c/o Marije Nederveen Amperestraat 10 1221 GJ Hilversum T 0031 35 6422304 E m.nederveen@wpf.org