Recent global frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Family Planning 2020 promise to achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health, family planning, and education on gender equality, including elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls and harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM). Meaningful youth participation and increased support for youth-led accountability is essential for these commitments to be achieved.
Half the world’s population is currently under 30 and nine in ten of these young people live in developing countries. Never before has there been such a large generation of young people ready and able to deliver change in their communities. If we are to ensure the policies aimed at changing this are enacted, we must engage and mobilise the enormous potential of the global youth population to make these promises a reality.
In 2018/2019 Restless Development and UNFPA ESARO worked with young people and development stakeholders from across East and Southern Africa to design a framework to better support them and the important work they do, specifically at local and national level where much of the youth-led accountability takes place.
