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Development of the Youth NGOs Anti-Poverty Strategy |
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 Poverty eradication is reflected as the number one goal of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The number one target is to halve poverty by 2015 and the other target is to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all including women and the young people. All member states of the United Nation embraced the MDGs and most countries domesticated the goals into their National Priorities.
In South Africa, several government mechanisms were instituted to address Poverty.
The National Development Agency (NDA) is among other critical institutions created by the government under the auspices of the Department of Social Development. The NDA’s primary objective is to contribute towards the eradication of poverty and its causes by providing grant funds to civil society organizations for the purposes of carrying out projects or programmes aimed at meeting poor communities’ developmental needs.
In 2008, it was highlighted that most countries were lagging behind and were likely not to achieve the MDGs only in 2015. The recent UN report on the Millennium Development Goals (2008) indicates the repercussion of the global financial crisis on the Millennium Development Goals. It reports that the meltdown will derail the progre ss made by most of the countries.
According to the report compiled by Food 4 Africa, one in two people in the Sub-Saharan Africa survive on under a dollar per day, while 33% of the Africa Population suffers from malnutrition.
In an effort to contribute to the efforts of meeting the MDGs by the country, the Youth Development Network (YDN), a network of NGOs working in the field of youth development, has over the years been actively involved in the implementation of programmes aimed at creating employment opportunities for young people and also advocating for such programmes in different countries.
For the past five years, the YDN has been carrying out an advocacy activity in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region through a programme called the Regional Entrepreneurship Programme, which sought to create employment opportunities for the youth in the region, thus addressing the MDGs.
Besides advocacy, the other activities of the YDN include capacity building, research and documentation.
Having been actively involved in the youth sector for some time, the YDN identified gaps that pose challenges to youth organisations that have been attempting to respond to the poverty status of young people in the different communities.
One of the identified gaps was the lack of a clear strategy that will coordinate the efforts of these youth civil society organisations in their different spheres.
It is against this background that the YDN realised the need to develop a Youth NGOs Anti-Poverty strategy that will encompass clear strategies to be engaged by the youth NGOs in their efforts to respond to the poverty situation in the country.
This strategy will complement the National Anti-Poverty strategy currently being developed by the country’s government in response to addressing the poverty challenges in South Africa.
This NDA funded Youth NGOs Anti-Poverty strategy development process will see Community Based Organisations, NGOs, Faith Based Organisations, and Coorperatives working with young people around the country, making their input to the strategy. These groups will be mobilized so that input can be collated on how best poverty can be eradicated in their communities, particularly among young people.
It will also see the mobilization of key stakeholders in the Youth Sector and those focusing on poverty alleviation, including government departments such as the Department of Social Development, to support and participate in all the processes, including the implementation of the strategy.
This project, will take six (6) months, and will create a collective voice for the civil society on best mechanisms for eradicating poverty.
It is envisaged that there shall be support for this project in all the different sectors due to the government’s willingness and commitment to eradicate poverty to meet the MDGs targets.
The project shall be characterized by a series of activities that will culminate into the development of the Youth NGOs Anti-Poverty Strategy. There shall be a series of consultative processes with relevant parties and role players, which will be in the form of forums and a summit. The project shall also stimulate the debates among role players on issues of youth unemployment and the role of the civil society in addressing poverty among the youth. These continuous interactive debates shall be done through a dedicated web page and other social network mechanisms. Lobbying will take place to ensure that the developed strategy forms part of the National Anti-Poverty Strategy.
Download Publications
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Developing the Youth NGOs Anti-Poverty Strategy
CONSULTATIVE FORUM
May 2010
File Size: 483kb
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Youth NGOs Anti-Poverty Strategy FRAMEWORK
June 2010
File Size: 889kb
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Towards the Anti-Poverty Strategy for South Africa
June 2010
File Size: 582kb
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