Focus on teens

While we have many programmes working for the rights of children, women and other vulnerable groups in the country there has been a limited focus on the situation of adolescents and the question of their rights. A new initiative launched by Unicef and the Rural Support Programme Network on Tuesday in Ghotki, Sindh over the coming three years hopes to improve the lives of younger people essentially by reducing child marriages and improving access to information about basic rights and medium of expression. The programme is part of an initiative being undertaken across South Asia, under which parents and communities will be guided about the rights of young people and putting in place structures to support their development and acquisition of skills. This is important in a number of ways. Teenagers are often left out of the equation when it comes to planning and developing programmes in various spheres. But in a country where they form some 22 percent of the population these adolescents are in many ways crucial to our future and to development in the country. Only if these young people can be empowered will we be able to reach towards future excellence and stability. These youth are after the parents of the future and responsible for bringing up the next generation. It is important to think about them.

The programme in Sindh follows from a recent Unicef initiative to concentrate on the lives of adolescents, and attempts to improve their access to rights. Adolescents often represent a section of the population where a multitude of problems begins, including issues such as planning families, developing life skills and acquiring the ability to earn a livelihood. Other groups in the country have worked with youth including street children. But in many ways young people who have grown beyond childhood are ignored when setting goals, targets or developing social plans. We hope that this programme can be expanded to other areas where child marriage and related problems are also endemic so that we can offer the generations of the future a better life. As a country with an extremely high youth population, this should be a priority and a point of focus for both the public and private sector.