{"id":60265,"date":"2023-08-28T14:02:33","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T18:02:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/?p=60265"},"modified":"2024-07-22T11:13:36","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T15:13:36","slug":"nothing-about-us-without-us-youth-advocates-call-for-a-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/fr\/2023\/08\/nothing-about-us-without-us-youth-advocates-call-for-a-change\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Nothing About Us Without Us\u2019 \u2013 Youth Advocates Call for a Change"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Instead of building a better future for young people, why <\/span>not <\/span>build it alongside them? PSI partnered with <\/span><\/span>Internews<\/span><\/span><\/a> at Women Deliver 2023 <\/span>to hear from youth advocates about how to improve <\/span>health systems for and with young people.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n

Interviewed by <\/span><\/i>Y-isha Raphael<\/span><\/i><\/a>, an activist and podcast host, read below for insights from three young leaders from <\/span><\/i>A360<\/span><\/i><\/a>, PSI\u2019s flagship youth program, who are transforming adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive healthcare in their communities [Alice Awuor Odhiambo, Youth Innovation Champion, A360 Kenya, Yohannes Seyoum, Youth Innovation Champion, A360 Ethiopia, Simileoluwa Ashimolowo, Youth Innovation Officer, A360 Nigeria].\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are some of the barriers that you face in your work trying to improve health systems?\u00a0<\/h5>\n

\u201cIn Kenya, the biggest challenge that we face is that there are not direct policies to help young women and girls get health services, especially contraceptive services.\u201d \u2013\u00a0 Alice Awuor Odhiambo<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Ethiopia, \u201cwhen a girl gets married, she moves to another community, another village, and in that village she doesn\u2019t have social connections with other people\u2026She doesn\u2019t know about the services available to her.\u201d \u2013 Yohannes Seyoum<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe major challenge we have in the A360 program is the deeply rooted social and cultural norms that we have in Nigeria.\u201d \u2013 Simileoluwa Ashimolowo<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

What is your call to action for stakeholders in this work?\u00a0<\/h5>\n

\u201cStakeholder collaboration is key because when stakeholders collaborate, they will share experiences, they will share resources, they will share expertise, and we collectively address these health challenges that are affecting young people.\u201d \u2013 Alice Awuor Odhiambo<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen the results of meaningful adolescent and youth engagement, so what are we waiting for?…Meaningful adolescent youth engagement should be considered as a strategy for every level of engagement, from the community to the national level.\u201d \u2013 Yohannes Seyoum<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy call to action to our leaders, to our stakeholders is that meaningful adolescent youth engagement is very important\u2026They should prioritize youth. We have so much to offer. There should be funding and we should be prioritized.\u201d \u2013 Simileoluwa Ashimolowo<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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For more information on meaningful adolescent and youth engagement, <\/span>click<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>here<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n

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