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40 million young people in Sub-Saharan Africa to enhance their knowledge on CSE
Education has the power to transform the lives of children and young people, and the world around them. But inclusive and transformative education cannot be delivered if students are not safe, well-nourished and healthy, and free from violence and discrimination.
On 15th June 2023 in Zanzibar, UNESCO through the Our Rights Our Lives Our Future (O3) Programme brought together more than 125 delegates from 33 Sub-Saharan African countries including Government officials from selected countries, funding partners, civil society organizations, and Youth representatives in the launch of the second phase of the O3 Programme. O3 phase two is planning to provide 44 million adolescents and young people with high-quality, accurate, culturally, and rights-based education on health and well-being, as well as education on preventing violence in schools.
The O3 Programme responds to the region’s most pressing challenges. Young people (aged 10 to 24) constitute 32% of SSA's population, and they face significant obstacles such as high rates of school dropout, new HIV infections, gender-based violence (GBV), and early and unintended pregnancies (EUPs). While knowledge about HIV has improved, further progress is still needed to promote safe behavior.
Although we have made a lot of progress, the O3, and O3 PLUS programmes remain very important to the context of Tanzania. As you may know, Tanzania is facing challenges in the health and well-being of adolescents. It is therefore important that we continue to make use of the various learning and sharing platforms that the O3 program has created
The launch of Phase 2, spanning from 2023 to 2027, reaffirms UNESCO's commitment to support member states in empowering children, adolescents, and young people in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), enabling them to thrive and contribute meaningfully to their communities and societies. In its second phase, the O3 Programme is placing a heightened emphasis on youth agency, parental engagement, social norms transformation, and community mobilization while intensifying efforts to reach hard-to-reach young people, starting with those left furthest behind. The O3 Programme is made possible through the generous support of the governments of Sweden, Norway, France, Switzerland, and Ireland.
The event was officiated by Hon. Lela Muhamed Mussa, Zanzibar Minister of Education and Vocational Training.
