Windhoek - UNFPA Namibia’s new Country Programme (CP) for 2019 to 2023 was approved by the Executive Board on 5 September 2018 in New York.
The new programme is informed by Agenda 2030 for the Sustainable Goals, Harambee Prosperity Plan and National Development Plan Five and will focus on national and sub-national interventions geared towards empowering young people, particularly adolescent girls on sexual and reproductive health issues by increasing their knowledge and skills towards adoption of protective sexual behaviors. This includes advocacy for the implementation of laws and policies that promote adolescent sexual and reproductive health, strengthening institutional capacities to deliver comprehensive sexuality education in higher learning institutions, and training of health care workers to deliver quality adolescent friendly sexual and reproductive health and HIV prevention services.
The country programme will enable 60,000 sexually active adolescents (15-19), to use modern contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancies by 2023. It will also seek to ensure a 28% increase in adolescent youth friendly, integrated sexual and reproductive health services, including HIV prevention and gender-based violence response services, and will focus on ensuring that community norms that perpetuate adolescent pregnancy and gender-based violence are changed.
Speaking during the presentation session, Dr. Jullita Onabanjo, UNFPA Regional Director for East and Southern Africa region reiterated the need for the region to invest in its young people as they make up a lion’s share of the population.
“These young people have the potential to transform the social and economic trajectory of the African continent – when smart investments are made in their health, education, empowerment and employment,” said Dr. Onabanjo.
“In Namibia, we have and will continue to work closely with partners, including with the First Lady on the ‘Be Free and Break Free’ campaign, which adopts an intergenerational approach to empowering young people with integrated sexual and reproductive health, HIV and GBV information, life skills and services,” she said.
