They are some three hundred young people of both sexes and from different regions of Haiti, to have gathered at the Haitian Olympic Centre, located on the northern edge of Port-au-Prince on August 12th and 13th, 2015, on the occasion of the International Youth Day.
This was an initiative of the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP) and the United Nations, through the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Civic Action (MJSAC), the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), the Haitian Olympic Committee (HOC) and the Volunteering Promotion Network (including the Program of Volunteers of the United Nations - UNV).
Wearing T-shirts and sneakers, these young people participated in various educational activities, related to the theme of health and citizen engagement to face development challenges in Haiti.
The debate followed the viewing of a documentary depicting the reality of a landlocked locality of the Southeast of Haiti, ¨Baie d´Orange¨, marked by an almost complete absence of sexual and reproductive health services and other basic services like water and electricity.
The participants suggested several actions to improve the lives and future of young people in Haiti and Baie d´Orange in particular. They wished the organization in schools, on a regular basis, of sessions on sexual and reproductive health, where students could freely express themselves and learn how to protect themselves. Those trainings should also be extended to parents, highlighted several of them.
The Representative of UNFPA, which was recently in Baie d´Orange within the framework of a mobile clinic organized by the Ministry of Public Health, said this visit had allowed her to better understand the Haitian resilience. Marielle Sander noted that youngsters had had to get up early and walk kilometers to get treatment.
¨I met these young people in Baie d'Orange and I have better understood the meaning of their struggle and the depth of their commitment. They fight for an environment to enable them to realize their potential. Their dream is to have universal access to health and education and a job to transform this reality which deprives them of their rights.
In addition to the sexual and reproductive health, the young people discussed topics such as the demographic dividend, education, well being, health through sport, active citizenship and employment, in relation with the Sustainable Development Goals of the agenda after 2015.
According to the Director of School Health in the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training, Dr Erol Joseph, these two days - dedicated to young people - are a first step towards action tracks regarding the issue of Haitian youth.The two-day Youth Health, held as part of the commemoration of the International Youth Day, have also been marked by sporting, cultural and recreational activities.
The latest edition of Youth Health Day was in March 2013. According to the Director of School Health of the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training, this is a space both konvertor, reflection, relaxation and learning dedicated to our youth about health-related topics, to education and the problems of youth.
Young people aged 15-24 account for about 20% of the total population of Haiti. This young population structure is an opportunity window for the country, with investments in human capital (education, health), economic policy fostering inter alia youth employment, and governance.
