Youth: Listen to Them, Involve Them, Partner with Them

MICHAEL CHOMMIE: As you leave the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, what do you see as the greatest global health challenges facing young people around the world today?

YOKA BRANDT: In general, young people are affected by global health challenges in different ways, depending on who they are and where they are. But looking at specific challenges for young people, I would make two points. The first – which is very strongly related to Dutch policy, and also close to my heart – are issues related to young people’s sexuality. These issues are often taboo to talk about, so it’s important that we find the right interventions to protect young people from the consequences of having unsafe sex, such as sexually transmitted infections and HIV. The second point I would highlight are vulnerable groups, such as young girls, are specifically vulnerable to power imbalances. These imbalances can take any form in different types of societies and can be associated with health problems and unwanted or complicated pregnancies.

MC: Until recently, young people were a somewhat overlooked demographic for many global agencies. Why should we pay special attention to this cohort now?

YB: There are 1.8 billion young people in the world today, so it is obvious that if you want to focus on the future, this group is key. Very often, young people are also drivers of change. In my own experience in Uganda, we worked with young people in IDP camps. By simply giving sufficient information and access to information to young people, the whole issue of sanitation and clean water spread around the camps through these agents of change. I think we’ve also seen it around HIV/AIDS issues. In its 2010 report, UNAIDS said that young people were actually leading what they called the HIV prevention revolution.

MC: So how do you think international development policies can empower youth to lead healthy lives and affect positive change in their communities as well as around the world?

YB: The most important thing is that we recognize youth not only as beneficiaries but also as our partners in development, and that implies that we should listen to them and involve them in policies and programs. I think maybe too often we assume that general development and health programs automatically will also benefit young people where in reality they have special needs that should be taken into account, for example, access to services. The first important step would therefore be to consider them as partners and listen to their specific needs.

MC: In addition to partnering with them, how can donors and organizations like PSI work with youth to empower them?

YB: As I said, it is important that we pay special attention to the needs of young people. For donors, this means partnering with youth organizations and with NGOs that speak for young people, as well as including young people in debates where their voices are heard. The Netherlands includes youth representatives in its delegations to international fora, and at home we involve young people in sexuality education and provide them access to health and a wealth of policies. This has paid off for us. What we also try to do as a government is to work with like-minded NGOs and other partners that have experience and expertise. For instance, our working relationship with PSI has been an obvious choice because of all the experience PSI has in these areas.

MC: One focus area for the Dutch international development arena is Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). What is the Ministry doing to promote SRHR for young people, especially those between the ages of 15 and 24?

YB: We’re very happy that SRHR has remained one of our focus areas, not only because of the importance of the issue for development, but also because we feel the Netherlands has a contribution to make. We are increasing our budgets for SRHR. Through all the organizations that we support and work with and in the various international debates, we have focused a lot of attention on the issue of youth and youth-friendly access and integrated services for Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV/ AIDS. So we show support through our financial contributions to organizations, but also through advocating internationally for young people’s rights.

MC: Congratulations on being appointed Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF. What are you hoping to accomplish in this new role?

YB: Thank you. I am very happy with this opportunity. I strongly relate to UNICEF’s mandate of assisting and protecting children and young people. My new role comes at a very interesting time, now that there is an increased pressure on development programs and organizations to show results, and be accountable and transparent. The world around us is changing, and we see new players and new global challenges. We see complex and new patterns of poverty and global health challenges, and development organizations need to make sure that we are ready to face everything that this environment presents us. I hope that my current and previous jobs have prepared me to adjust and continue showing what we can do in terms of effective development assistance that shows results.