The development of the 1.8 billion youths in the world was brought to the forefront when World Population Day was observed yesterday and though Guyana is yet to implement a National Youth Policy, Minister Frank Anthony has promised that one was “in the works”.
Speaking at Guyana’s observance of the day, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport explained that a consultant had been hired to work on a draft policy. However, he said, the draft needed much improvement. “We think that it can be improved. I don’t think it captures the wide range of things that need to be in the policy,” the minister said. He continued, “Even the stakeholders that had a look at what came back felt that there was a need for improvement. So, before we put it out, we’d really like to make those improvements.”
Anthony also stated that though there were “extensive consultations” the presented draft, he felt, did not reflect that.
Yesterday’s observance was organised by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and heavy emphasis was placed on the development of young women.
Speaking at the event, Khadija Musa, coordinator for the United Nations in Guyana and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Represen-tative, was tasked with presenting the remarks made by Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and UNFPA Executive Director.
In the presentation, it was noted that young people made up about a fifth of the world and therefore held great potential for change and development.
“Governments and the international community are increasingly conscious of the importance of providing resources and opportunities for all young people to reach their full potential as individuals and citizens,” Musa read. “They recognise that investing in young people and enabling them to exercise their human rights not only benefits young people themselves, but can also help their countries reap a demographic dividend.”
She went on to say, “We know that healthy, educated, productive and fully engaged young people can help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and are more resilient in the face of individual and societal challenges. As skilled and informed citizens, they can contribute more fully to their communities and nations.”
Musa also pointed out that puberty was a difficult period in anyone’s life with not only physical changes but also the emergence of “new vulnerabilities to human rights abuses, particularly in the areas of sexuality, marriage and childbearing.” These challenges, she said, were even more difficult for young women.
“Millions of girls are coerced into unwanted sex or marriage, increasing the risks of unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, as well as death or disability due to childbirth,” she read. “This is why young people, especially adolescent girls, are at the heart of our work at UNFPA… We are doing this with an emphasis on reaching the poorest, most marginalised and underserved adolescent girls.”
Patrice La Fleur, Assistant representative for the UNFPA sub-regional office for the Caribbean/Guyana emphasised the body’s concern on targeting youths. According to La Fleur, 60% of the Caribbean’s population is under the age of 30 while in Guyana, 53% of our population is under 24 years old.
“This data informs us that young people are a powerful force for shaping social and economic reality and will be responsible for shaping the future of our dear country Guyana. It therefore means that you must provide the resources and opportunities for young people to realise their full potential and help our country to reap the demographic dividend.”
La Fleur also pointed out a number of issues facing our society including unplanned pregnancies, gender-based violence, and gangs.
“The important component of the solution to the challenge is to build resilience among young people especially at the community level where the socialisation begins within the family and the association with their peers,” La Fleur said.
With the observation of World Population Day, the question of Guyana’s declining population naturally came up.
“Guyana, as far as I know, our population has not been growing and the attributable factors could be when you look at our birth rates, when you look at our death rates, and our migration, that is basically kept our population stable for so many years,” Anthony said in response. He further said, “Perhaps when the numbers come out – because the report that was done by the Stats Bureau was a preliminary report – when the number is out
then we will have to look at whether or
not there has been growth in some
areas and drops in others. With the preliminary report right now, it’s very difficult to know that.”
Worldwide, there are 7.2 billion persons and this figure is expected to rise to 9.5 billion by 2050. The effects of population growth still remain major concerns amongst nations and particularly in developing countries these concerns are multiplied.
“Many of young population is living in developing countries and in the developing countries you have a problem with opportunities for better education, for health, employment, and of course lots of these children live in poverty,” Anthony said.
This year’s observance is the 25th of its kind; World Population Day began in 1989 following recommendations by the United Nations (UN) for increased attention to be placed on the urgency and important of population issues and their solutions.
