Integrating the needs of young people into the Second National Economic Empowerment and Development

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Integrating the needs of young people into the
Second National Economic Empowerment and
Development Strategy (NEEDS 2)

• Dabesaki Mac-Ikemenjima
• Representative of the Government of Nigeria
• Commonwealth Regional Youth Caucus Africa
• National Council on Youth Development
• March 12-16, Katsina City

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NEEDS 1

• Value re-orientation
• Wealth Creation
• Employment Generation
• Poverty eradication

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NEEDS 2

• NEEDS 2 will seek to reduce poverty levels by 35
  percent by 2011, with a particular emphasis on
  employment.

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Young people have needs

• Reproductive health needs
• Education needs
• Employment/ entrepreneurship needs
• Participation needs

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What do young people want?

• Education of good quality
• Adequate youth friendly reproductive health
  services
• More space to participate in the social, economic
  and political life of society
• More jobs, opportunities and policy environment
  that supports small scale youth businesses.

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Meeting educational needs

• Provide free, accessible education of good
  quality
• Train, retrain and recruit teachers
• Review curriculum
• Equip and build schools not six classroom blocks
• Pay teachers salaries
• Invest in research, science and technology
• Invest in girls education

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Meeting Participation needs

• Reserve quotas for youth participation in
  political and policy processes
• Engage youth as professionals and not just as
  recipients of agendas
• Include youth in delegations to national and
  international meetings on issues affecting them.

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Meeting Reproductive Health needs

• Invest in youth friendly reproductive health
  services
• Increasingly engage youth as peer educators to
  stop AIDS and pregnancy
• Provide free and friendly counselling and testing
  services as well as ARV for positive youth
• Implement the HIV/AIDS/ Family Life Education at
  all levels.

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Meeting employment needs

• Unemployment is linked to poverty, HIV/AIDS and
  other social vices
• Create micro-finance schemes to support young
  entrepreneurs in establishing private businesses
• Create mentorship and internship schemes to
  support youth businesses
• Track all government investments on youth
  entrepreneurship and create a database on youth
  employment
• Provide ICT training for youth and invest in
  rural telephony project
• Provide an enabling policy environment for youth
  businesses to thrive

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Why invest in young people?

• Demographic bonus
• Innovation and leadership
• Bear the brunt of poverty on their families and
  communities

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NEEDS 2 and the MDGs

• NEEDS 2 will seek to reduce poverty levels by 35
  percent by 2011, the MDGs seek to halve poverty
  (50 percent) by 2015
• Achieving NEEDS 2 is critical to Nigerias
  achievement of the MDGs. This could be a
  groundbreaking achievement to become to\he first
  country in SSA to be so close to achieving the
  MDGs
• NEEDS 2 has to focus on key MDG indicators
  related to youth.

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Quick wins from MDGs youth report

• Expand access to SRH information including family
  planning services
• Provide free school meals in primary schools to
  encourage school retainership
• Governments should adopt and promote the concept
  of peer-led initiatives and encourage young
  people in schooling to undertake community based
  initiatives that encourage school participation.

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NEEDS 2 and the MDGs

• In other to position Nigeria towards achieving
  the MDGs, investment priorities in NEEDS 2 should
  include
• Hunger and poverty reduction programs
• Universal basic education
• Girl child education and empowerment of young
  women
• Health care system that meets the SRH needs of
  youth
• Contraception, family planning and sexuality
  education
• Prevention of HIV and other diseases
• Massive investment in affordable housing
• In youth employment and ICT4D.

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Recommendations

• Create inter-ministerial collaboration and
  partnerships on youth development in Nigeria
• Coordination of youth interventions across
  ministries and agencies
• Make budgetary provisions to youth issues across
  government ministries
• Invest in multi-sectoral, multistakeholder
  youth-adult partnerships
• Fund the National Youth Development Fund
• Invest in the National Youth Service Corps.

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• Sanu
• Etse
• Imela
• Omiete
• I thank you all for your attention
• Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria
• Long live the Commonwealth