Highlights

Partnerships

Both at the global as well as at the country level, the collaborative character of this project has sparked dialogue among implementing agencies on adolescent development, particularly in relation to poverty reduction, which is the hallmark of the eight Millennium Development Goals endorsed by the entire UN community of nations. The multi-sectoral nature of the country projects has necessitated the involvement of many ministries, varying from Ministries of Health and Education to Ministries of Youth and even in one instance the Ministry of Finance. Mongolia has an inter-agency UN Theme Group on Adolescents. In addition, financial and technical assistance to national NGOs and youth organizations has allowed them to build capacity in the field of reproductive health, education, advocacy and media campaigns.

Sustainability

In Malawi, Mali and Palestine the projects have been linked to or are already integrated with Country Programmes to ensure continuity after UNF support ends. In some countries, national project coordination is being managed by a government institution. In Mauritania, the project will be one of the key inter-agency programmes in the UN Development Agency Framework (UNDAF) for the period of 2003-2008. In Mongolia, the costs for running the Adolescent Centers have been included in aimag (Provincial) government budgets.

Policy Support

In Bangladesh, Benin, Malawi, Palestine, Russia and Senegal the project has played a key role in promoting policy dialogues. In Bangladesh, through high-level policy support, the current youth policy now includes a section on raising awareness amongst adolescents on reproductive health. Benin adopted a National Youth Policy in December 2002. In Malawi, an advocacy campaign is underway to revise the National Youth Policy to include a stronger focus on gender equality, female participation, as well as HIV/AIDS prevention and sexual and reproductive health services for young people. In Russia, the “Information letter” from the Deputy Minister of Health on the need to improve facilities and activities in youth centres can be regarded as a key advocacy document developed to influence federal level policy.