The Youth Safeguarding Programme (SYP), which aims to empower adolescents and young people aged between 10 and 24 to protect themselves from Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), including HIV, early and unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, early marriages, gender-based violence and harmful cultural practices, while promoting gender equality standards and protective behaviours, is holding its 10th Steering Committee meeting from 6 to 7 March 2024 in Gaborone, Botswana.
The Angolan delegation taking part in the event was made up of six members: Kikas Manuel Machado - National Youth Director - Ministry of Youth and Sports; Soraya Kalongela - National Director for Pre-School and Primary Education of the Ministry of Education; Paulo Jackson Miguel - Coordinator of the School Health Programme of the Ministry of Health; Ana Isabel Angelina - Executive Director of the Youth Support Centre, Laurinda Chilombo Santos - General Youth Director of the Council of Christian Churches in Angola and Luís Samacumbi - Youth, Gender and Humanitarian Programme Officer of the United Nations Population Fund. The delegation was received at the Angolan Embassy in the Republic of Botswana by Administrative Attaché Sandra Cambire.
To ensure effective direction and strategic focus, a Regional Programme Steering Committee made up of the governments of the 12 countries has been set up to provide political and strategic direction, make appropriate strategic decisions on project implementation and ensure the sharing of strategic knowledge to broaden partnerships and mobilise resources. This body meets at the beginning of each year to review the previous year's progress reports from the twelve countries and the regional office and assess them against the global targets; review the proposed activities for the following year from each country and the regional office, as defined in the Annual Work Plans (AWPs), and formally approve the implementation plans.
On the sidelines of this meeting, a Gala was held to mark the 10th Anniversary of the Youth Safeguarding Programme, where Angola was awarded 1st Place in the Menstrual Health in Primary Education Category (Grades 5 and 6). Angola, like Tanzania, only joined the SYP programme in 2021 and since the beginning of SYP implementation in Angola, menstrual health has been a key strategic area of focus. Since then, the Ministry of Education has trained teachers from more than 150 primary and secondary schools in menstrual health and more than 30,000 adolescent girls and boys have been reached with information on menstrual health and 15,000 menstrual panties and 10,000 smart watches have been distributed.
Angola was also recognised as runner-up in two other categories:
Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Angola only joined SYP in 2021, but since then the Ministry of Youth and Sports has shown an exceptional appetite for innovation through digital solutions. It created the Oi Kambas Digital App, based on TuneMe, and adapted it to the Angolan context. The app was launched on one of Angola's most watched television stations, TV Zimbo, which has continued to promote regular talks on Sexual Reproductive Health ever since. Additionally, since 2023, Angola has also been using the SMS Jovem platform. This platform allows adolescents and young people to interact with counsellors who provide them with correct information and help them make informed healthy choices about their Sexual Reproductive Health. Currently, more than 100,000 users, mostly teenagers and young people, use this platform.
Mental health: Angola has partnered with the Trauma Resource Institute and Emory University in the USA to implement a community trauma resilience model. 50 Peer Educators and SYP Provincial Supervisors and Assistants have been trained so far. The model helps adolescents and young people understand the roots of traumatic stress and teaches them specific skills for coping with adverse events and how to return to balance of body, mind and spirit after experiencing traumatic events.
