The Joint Meeting of SADC Ministers responsible for Youth and Ministers responsible for vulnerable children was held at Safari Hotel in Windhoek, Namibia from 1 to 3 June 2011. The Meeting was attended by delegates from all SADC Member States, except Seychelles who sent apology for not being able to attend. Representatives of SADC National Youth Councils, Pan African Youth Union, United Nations Agencies, and International Co-operating Partners also attended the meeting. The Meeting of Ministers followed that of SADC Senior Officials which took place from 1-2 June 2011 to prepare documents for Ministers to discuss. Youth from the SADC region also met separately on 31 May, 2011, in Windhoek, Namibia to prepare their issues which were also considered by Ministers.
The meeting was convened to discuss common ways of addressing the increasing problems and concerns of vulnerable children and youth in the SADC Region which include diseases such as HIV and AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis; poverty; hunger and malnutrition; social and political conflicts; disability among children and youth; and the growing problems of pregnancy among teenagers and unemployment among the youth. Ministers noted that these problems posed a serious threat to the development and well being of children and youth as well as to the peace and security of the region. In this regard, they agreed to strengthen their regional efforts to collectively address these challenges as a matter of urgency.
Ministers adopted common plans and actions for the Region that will help to accelerate the delivery of basic services and needs for vulnerable children and youth such as the provision of safe drinking water, health care, education and skills that enable youth to earn income and to create jobs for themselves, protection from abuse, and the provision of housing and family care. Other basic services include those relating to improving the capacity of children and youth to cope with the stresses of life, and to be able to live in harmony with others in society.
Ministers also shared information and some good work and experiences taking place in their different countries and ways to address common problems. They concluded that the problems facing children and youth were common across their countries and therefore could not be addressed by individual countries working alone. In this regard they approved regional activities that will be will be implemented by all Member States during the period from 2012-2014. These activities will be coordinated by the SADC Secretariat.
In addition, Ministers also discussed the priorities for addressing challenges facing youth that were developed at the continental level by the African Union, and agreed to align them with those at the SADC level. Among them include the need to support creative ideas of youth and to create jobs and develop the economies of the region, support youth to participate in the political affairs and in making decisions that affect their countries, as well as promoting their health and social well being. These priorities were developed with the input of SADC Member States. The priorities will be submitted for discussion and approval by the Summit of Heads of States and Governments of the African Union which is dedicated to youth development. This Summit will be held from 23 June to 2nd July in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. Ministers also agreed on the priorities issues for youth from the SADC Region that will be considered as international priorities at the 65th Session of the United Nations Assembly on Youth which will be held 25-26 July in New York. They agreed to attend this United Nations meeting in great numbers and to ensure that these priorities were considered for support at the international level.
Ministers agreed to set up the necessary structures required to fully implement their decisions and improve the lives of children and youth in the region. They noted that the problems of children and those of youth were very different in most cases. In order to discuss and address them more effectively and in greater detail, they agreed that in future they would meet separately as Ministers responsible for children, and those responsible for youths. Before ending their meeting, Ministers agreed to meet again in 2012, subject to approval by the SADC Council of Ministers, and follow up progress on the implementation of their decisions. This will also allow them to monitor the situation of children and youth in the region, and to come up with better ways of continuing to address the problems of those vulnerable children and youth in the region.
Issued on 3 June 2011
Windhoek, Namibia