Youth is focus on World Population Day
If there’s one thing that Belize has in abundance, its young people … so when the United Nations looks at Belize’s population it?s not hard to figure out what they see. News Five’s Alyssa Noble has more.
Arnulfo Kantun, Project Coordinator, U.N.F.P.A.
?This celebration is really celebrating people, young people and not just the statistics, but the facts and so on. The interests of those young people, their views, what they want, what they expect and what solution they come up with in their own words.?
Alyssa Noble, Reporting
It?s World Population Day, and the United Nations Population Fund organized a Youth Forum to celebrate the day under the theme ?Young People?, focusing on issues affecting their development. According to youth advocates participating today, the matters of concern for young people in Belize are diverse.
Carmichael Polonio, 19 yr. old youth advocate, XChange
?Well Belizean youth, when you really think about it, we are at the reproductive age and at the productive age. So of course our sexual health, our reproductive rights which covers a wide gamut including HIV/AIDS. We also have things that affect our productivity such as the high taxes and the increased standard of living and other things like that in Belize. And most important is definitely crime and violence because that affects all of us in every aspect of our lives.?
Jody Martinez, 19 yr. old youth advocate, B.F.L.A.
?Education, crime and I would say one of the leading, we come back to the disease. HIV, the S.T.I.?s that are taking place within our country. The rate just increases and it?s like nothing is being done to help, to carry it down. So we must probably just look at it and see what can we do to help it and every person must look and say what can I do instead of what can we all do about it. If I can make a change, then someone will see me making a change and then it will go on forth.?
And while some may feel that little is being done to address these issues, according to Dr. Isabel Tun, there are strategies and policies in place; they just need to be put into practice.
Dr. Isabel Tun, Consultant, Youth for the Future
?One of the things that we are looking at for this newly revisited policy has to do with monitoring and evaluation. We have to ensure that an action plan comes out of this policy. If we don?t have it, what we will have will be a theoretical base, but we will not have the strategies that will be mapped out to say how it will take place and finally, one of the critical aspects of this policy is that the government of Belize has to invest the monies to enable the implementation. Without that, you can?t have the programmes, you cannot have the personnel and so on and this has to come along with the participation of the private sector.?
But in the interim, youth advocates say, it?s the perfect time to get involved.
Carmichael Polonio
?There are so many things out there for young people to do, just get out there do something. If there is nothing in your neighbourhood, start something because you can definitely do it.?
Jody Martinez
?There are all different types of organisations out there. And youths are one of the major focus for all NGO?s and governmental organisations also, so we have the first privilege, youths. So I must encourage our youths to come out and take part, you know.?
Reporting for News Five, I am Alyssa Noble.
Among the organisations represented today were the Belize Family Life Association, Youth Enhancement Services, XChange, and Y-Focus.
