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Mar 14th, 2008 - 14:31:01 |
Esther Agbarakwe
Hi everyone, am Esther and i just want to write on my participation at the 3rd Africa Conference on sexual Health and Right that was held at the International Conference center Abuja form the 3rd-7th Feb. 2008 before i continue, i would to acknowledge Actionaid Intl Nigeria. for thier sponorship to me and our very own Joya for her contribution to my presentation
The conference attracted activists, reseachers, young people and policy makers in the field of sexual health and right accross different continent.
The conference was declared opened by the Mr. Uwemedimo Essiet, Chairman of the organizing committee after a brief speech by the honorable Minister of Health for Nigeria in which she stressed on the importance of educating the general public on issues related to reproductive health and rights, and the need for the public to have information on such issues readily available.
She pointed out that deaths from HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases and deaths from unsafe abortions and related causes were largely preventable but still prevalent in the African region due to the lack of information.
Sponsors and co-sponsors of the conference were given the opportunity to make brief speeches.
Ms Elizabeth Maguire in her speech said
“Now is the time to create a new global movement to turn women’s right to safe abortion into reality. To achieve our global goals, we must agree that:
• We will not stand for playing politics with women’s lives.
• We will not stop until the basic technologies for safe abortion care and contraception, that have been available in rich countries for decades, reach every village in low-income countries around the world.
• We will not be satisfied until all women know their legal rights and reproductive options.
• We will not be silent until criminal penalties are removed for women who seek and health professionals who provide abortion.
• We will not rest until governments and donor’s put women’s lives first in their priorities for money and attention.
Most important, we will engage women everywhere to demand the sexual and reproductive health care they need and the compassionate treatment and respect they deserve.
With leaders from Africa and every region, now is the time to begin a new era in advancing the human dignity and rights of women around the world”.
I, as one of the Youth Speakers spoke on 'Intervention of HIv/AIDS among Youths in Tertiary Institutions' in Cross River State, Southern Nigeria and i based my discussion/argument on the effect of Drug/substance abuse on the sexual health of Youths.
youth participation at the conference was one of core area of the conference. about 100 youths attended a special youth summiit and were admiited to the Youth Sexuality Institute (YSI)
Objectives:
• Develop a better understanding of the basic concepts and major challenges to youth sexual health and rights in Africa
• Build the skills required to engage with stakeholders in advancing the youth agenda; and
• Contribute to mapping the key actions required for improving youth sexual health and rights in Africa'
.
Day 2: YSI
• Defining the key Terms and concepts: Sex, Sexuality, Gender, Sexual Health and Rights.
• Sex: sex refers to the biological characteristics which define human beings ranging from female to male
(The term is often used to mean “sexual activity”)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
• Sexuality: Sexuality is a central aspect of being human throughout life and encompasses sex, gender identities and roles, sexual orientation, erotism, pleasure, intimacy and reproduction. Sexuality is experienced and expressed in thoughts, fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors, practices, roles and relationships. Whiles sexuality can include all of these dimensions, not all of them are always experienced or expressed. Sexuality is influenced by the interaction of biological, psychological, social, economic, political, cultural, ethical, legal, historical and religious and spiritual factors.
- (WHO)
• Gender: Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behavior, activities and attributes that a particular society considers appropriate for men and women.
- (WHO)
• Sexual Health: Sexual health is a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity. Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. For sexual health to be attained and maintained, the sexual rights of all persons must be respected, protected and fulfilled
- (WHO)
• Sexual Right: examples are
- Right to sexual pleasure and fantasy
- Right to sexual orientation
- Right to choose sexual period
- Right to safe abortion and post abortion care (PAC)
• Status of Youth Sexual Health and Rights in Africa – I: what are the issues of concern
•Status of Youth Sexual Health and Rights in Africa – II: Progress Made and further Action required.
Day 3: YSI
• Pleasure and Responsibility: Building Loving and Mutually Rewarding Relationships
• Claiming our Rights: International and Regional Instrument Validating Sexual health and Rights
• Documents Promoting Rights: various documents the Nigerian Government has signed for the promotion and the protection of the rights of its citizen?
- International covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
- International covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
- UN convention on the rights of child (CRC)
- Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Again Women (CEDAW)
• Making the Case for Young People’s Sexual Health and Rights – Background
- Nearly half of the global population are under age 25
Many young people are already sexually active and vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and other STI’S, unplanned pregnancy, unsafe abortion, sexual coercion and violence
- While adolescence is a time for growth and learning, youth increasingly confront multiple threats to their health and well being
- Adolescents need information and skills to protect themselves from harm and to make free, informed and responsible decisions about their sexuality
- The time to entrust young people with the right, and equip them with the tools to build an egalitarian future no doubt is now.
• Documenting
- African Union Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa
-
African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR)
- Beijing Action for Action(BPFA)
- International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD PoA)
- Millennium Development Goals
• How can we make the case? – all the documents have the following provisions:
- The right to equality, and to be free from all forms of discrimination- this provision can be used to argue for appropriate nutrition and care, and when adolescents are denied choice parts of meats, which they need for growth of their bodies and bones.
- The right to liberty and security of the person – this provision can be used to campaign for the protection of children and girls from sexual abuse and exploitation (FGM etc)
- The right to Information and Education – can be used to campaign for young people’s access to sexual and reproductive health and rights education – information and education that is gender sensitive and free from stereotypes
- The right to be free from torture and ill-treatment – this can be used as a campaign tool for protection against sexual exploitation, forced prostitution, sex slavery, sexual abuse and coercion, forced marriages, sex in exchange for employment.
• way forward
- More effort is needed
- Programs developed for and by adolescents is required
- Governments need to shift from acknowledging problems to solving them.
- We all need to work to make the case.
• Making Advocacy and Partnerships Work for the Youth Agenda.
I am more inspire and informed to be more involved in HR issues in Nigeria.
Esther Agbarakwe,
Nigeria 
Feb 7th, 2008 - 18:05:23 |
Caitlin
Report from World AIDS Campaign meeting in Amsterdam, January 30-February 1
I have just finished participating in a 2-day consultation organized by the World AIDS Campaign (WAC) and funded by the UNFPA. The meeting brought together young activists working in HIV/AIDS work from around the world and representing a number of different organizations and networks.
Most of the youth participants represented organizations working in sexual and reproductive health initiatives and HIV positive youth organizations. The World AIDS Campaign staff was also there to talk about their campaigns and how they can be improved. They have recently hired a Youth World AIDS Campaign coordinator, Claudia Ahumeda, who is working with WAC to develop and support youth campaigning initiatives. Check out the WAC site at: www.worldaidscampaign.info
During the first day of the meeting, all of the participants had the opportunity to talk about their organization and what sort of work they do. We then listened to updates about various campaigns and advocacy initiatives were happening in the next few years and leading up to 2010, which is the target date for Universal Access.*
These activities and events included:
- The World AIDS Campaign 20th anniversary
- ICASA: International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa
- The G8 and their Universal Access Commitments
- UNGESS 2008
For more information about these, please check out the following websites*:
www.ua2010.org
www.g8campaign.org
www.ungasshiv.org
At the end of the first day, we had the opportunity to brainstorm themes that we wanted to explore as a group, and to suggest individual topics to discuss.
During the morning of the second day, we each had the opportunity to host a session on the topic we had proposed. The “Open Space” process meant that we had three sessions, with 10 topics each. During one session, it would be our turn to host our topic and facilitate a discussion and recommendations on that topic. During the session when we were not hosting a session, we could participate in any of the other topics that were being hosted.
I chose to host the topic of including young IDUs and harm reduction networks in the HIV/AIDS movement. We discussed themes such as:
- The stigma and discrimination against young IDUs, even within the HIV and AIDS movement
- The fact that sexual and reproductive health (SRH) organizations perpetuate stigma by leaving IDU issues unacknowledged
- The lack of young IDUs participating
- The need for training on IDU issues and harm reduction for SRH organizations
- The fact that even when organizations or regions want to implement harm reduction programs, they may face restrictions from their funding agencies, such as Pepfar, UNAIDS etc that don’t allow harm reduction
- There is no mention of harm reduction within UN systems inter-agency task force
And recommended the following:
- The development of trainings for Sexual and Reproductive Health organizations and peer educators, to familiarize them with issues related to IDU
- The need to lobby and advocate UN organizations to include harm reduction and IDU issues for young people in their mandates
- To include youth IDU issues in the UNGASS reports
- To develop sensitization trainings to reduced stigma and discrimination
- To develop youth specific harm reduction tool-kits, such as for training, advocacy, research, program development
- To develop a position paper exploring the linkages between harm reduction , sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS
On the morning of the third day, we had a Mexico Youth Force meeting. This is was a meeting to bring together those of us who were at the consultation and also working on planning and sub-committees for the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City August 2008. I am on the Advocacy Subcommittee and will be helping out with the Pre-Conference Subcommittee to ensure that harm reduction advocacy messages and training are included in the overall strategy for the conference. Kyla Zarnardi, the other Youth RISE Coordinator is also on the Youth Pavilion Subcommittee, which is great. We will keep you updated as the planning progresses.
Being invited to Amsterdam was a great opportunity for me to connect with harm reduction organizations based in Amsterdam, of which there are many! The Netherlands has long been considered a leader, not only in harm reduction and drug policy but also in progressive and caring social and health programs in general.
I met with Ernst Brunning, who is the director of Quest for Quality (Q4Q) an organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life and work. Their sector public policies focuses on the improvement of public policies in the field of drugs, aids and alcohol. They work on quite a few harm reduction training projects and are also quite involved in alcohol harm reduction. They are working on a collaborative project called Urban Nights, which provides a master class to night life policy people and industry people around safe nightlife, to enhance “pleasure, peace and profit.”
Ernst is one of the coordinators of the Alcohol Harm Reduction Conferences. This year, as a satellite to the 19th International Conference on Drug Related Harm, there will be the 4th International Alcohol Harm Reduction Conference. The focus will be on Youth and Alcohol Harm Reduction. He has asked for Youth RISE’s participation, in both the steering committee and during the actual event, potentially as presenters or facilitators. I will send more information as it comes.
Check out Q4Q at www.q4q.nl
I then met with Floor van Bakkum who coordinates Project Unity in the Netherlands and is involved in quite a few safer nightlife initiatives, including Urban Nights and a European Union committee called Democratic Cities and Drugs. Project Unity is a peer education program that trains peer volunteers to go into big dance parties and raves to provide information on harm reduction, for drugs such as ecstasy, cocaine, other stimulants, ketamine, ghb and alcohol. They work closely with the party organizers and paramedics to ensure that the people attending the party can have a safe, and fun, time. They also have some great information resources, however, most of them are in Dutch. Something we talked about was the need for translation services… there are great resources out there, but sometimes they don’t reach very many people because of language barriers. (I know this is also a challenge for our network and our communications in general. I hope that we can continue towards having our network function in more languages then English.)
I also visited AMOC, a drop in centre for drug users in Amsterdam that provides meals, showers, support services and a user room (for drug use). The office for the Correlation Network was located in the same building and there I met with Katrin Schiffer, one of the founders and coordinators of the network. Correlation has been operating since 2005 to increase the social inclusion and health of Europeans that are often marginalized and excluded, such as drug users, sex workers and undocumented migrants. They have worked on quite a few projects and have convened several meetings and conferences. Check out their website here: www.correlation-net.org . They are also hoping to strengthen initiatives for socially excluded young people and would like to work with Youth RISE to figure out how to better achieve this. Once again, stay tuned for more.
All in all, my time in Amsterdam was very productive and interesting. I hope to be able to follow up on the connections I made at the WAC meeting, and work to strengthen partnerships with groups and activists working in the HIV/AIDS sector, as well as to continue to build partnerships in harm reduction.
If any of you have the opportunity to participate in meetings or events such as these, where you learn more about the work that others are doing, please share these experiences with the rest of the network. It is so important for all of us to be able to learn from experiences of others around the world.
Caitlin
Jan 8th, 2008 - 19:23:10 |
Caitlin
Hi everyone,
Now that we have received funding, we are able to develop the network in ways that we couldn't before. We now have 2 coordinators, myself and Kyla Zanardi, working full-time and part-time, which is great.
And we are now able to establish an International Working Group to shape and plan the network. The application is posted in the documents section.
This is really exciting for us, because it means that we can work more closely with other young people from around the world, and truly make this a project that is relevant to the needs and experiences of young people globally.
It's challenging work, because the issues we face as young people are so varied, as are the reasons for using drugs and the drugs that we use... which is why the work of the IWG is so important. We hope that you will consider applying. The deadline is Friday, January 25th.
If you don't feel as though you can commit to the time involved in the IWG, email anyway to see if there are other ways your input can be included.
Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you,
Caitlin
Jul 7th, 2007 - 10:00:19 |
Caitlin
Reflections on Youth Participation at the 18th IHRA Conference, Warsaw Poland:
We announced the formation of an international harm reduction network for youth at the Vancouver 2006 IHRA conference, at the end of our youth panel. Coordination for the different elements started around mid-September. The IHRA conference coordinating committee asked the working group to create a youth panel, and we decided to plan a youth satellite meeting to try to get more young people to have a presence at the conference in Warsaw, and to help shape the developing network.
International coordinating is not easy, and the few of us that were working to plan the various different elements had never worked together before. I can’t speak for others, but my expectations were definitely high, as they are always are when given an opportunity to “prove” something. In this case, we were given an opportunity to have greater youth visibility and voice at the conference, and to have planning meeting (the satellite).
As someone who is deeply committed to the inclusion of young people in the decisions, programs and policies that impact their lives, this opportunity meant a lot to me. There are many, many reasons why young people are excluded from harm reduction (both from policies and programs) and I hope this forum and network will be an opportunity to explore some of this reasons and to come up with strategies to overcome the barriers.
Now, nearly a month since I arrived in Warsaw, I feel as though we accomplished the beginnings of a great foundation for the youth network. The youth satellite, the follow up meeting, the youth panel and presentations on the opening and closing nights, and all of the conversations in between were so insightful and helpful. It was amazing to meet other young people committed to harm reduction from around the world, to hear their challenges and hopes, why they do this work and what would help them do it better.
I hope that the momentum continues. I hope that we can continue the conversations and networking that was started and that we can work together to develop a network that works to serve the needs of young people working and living harm reduction, to advocate and develop services and training where it’s needed, and to make sure that the voices of young people are represented and heard at the policy level around the world. And the network must reach others who do not have access to computers, who won’t receive these emails. Therefore we can work together to developing effective strategies for outreach.
Please contribute your thoughts to this site. The developing youth network needs you, needs all of us, to actively be a part of its creation.
If you were at the conference in Warsaw, let us know that the experience was like for you. If you have questions about harm reduction – ask them! Contribute your thoughts on the definition of harm reduction and how it relates to young people. And don’t forget… we need a name! So, check out the wiki’s and blogs about these topics, or start your own!
Jun 3rd, 2007 - 02:03:25 |
Caitlin
Hello everyone!
For those of you who travelled to the 18th International Conference on Drug Related Harm... I hope you had safe travels home! We will be posting the notes from the satellite meeting and follow up meetings soon. Check out some of the pictures that are already uploaded, and more of those to come as well!
We would love to hear your thoughts and reflections on the youth meetings, the conference in general, as well as your thoughts on harm reduction as it relates to young people.
And don't forget... we're looking for a new name!!
Feel free to start a discussion or blog about information, thoughts or questions regarding harm reduction and young people.
Stay tuned for more soon, and we look forward to hearing from you!
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