PANAMA: UNFPA Regional Director Says Latin America Needs Empowered Youth
EFE reported on 22 May that UNFPA Director for Latin America and the Caribbean , Marcela Suazo, believes that the region needs to empower youth and find solutions to the cycles of poverty generated by unwanted adolescent pregnancies. Read in Spanish: EFE
CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE): UN And Government Tighten Joint Response To AIDS
Congo-Site reported on 22 May on the launch in Pointe Noire by UNFPA UN AIDS Theme Group Chair, David Lawson, and Pointe Noire Province Governor, Alexandre Honore Paka, and of a series of joint activities aimed at tightening up the AIDS national response supported by the United Nations in Congo. Mr. Lawson also joined Women's Affairs Minister, Jeanne Francoise Leckomba Loumeto, to launch a teenage pregnancy programme for the reinsertion of teenage mothers. Read in French: Congo-Site
BOTSWANA: Young Batswana Seek Radical Amendments to African Youth Charter
Mmegi reported on 22 May that young people want a quota of seats in national parliaments of AU member states reserved for young people and a repeal of laws that bar youths with criminal records from employment. The recent national conference of BNYC was convened to adopt a country position ahead of the World Youth Conference, which will be preceded by two African youth conferences - one in Namibia for the SADC region in June, the other for the continent in Nigeria. The conference was jointly organised by the Department of Youth in the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture and BNYC in partnership with UNFPA. Read: Mmegi
SYRIA: Executive Board Visits UNFPA, UNDP Projects in Syria
Multiple media outlets reported on 22 May on a recent field visit by the UNFPA/UNDP Executive Board to Syria. The group, which included 10 diplomats, visited a number of UNFPA and UNDP projects and met with government officials to address UNFPA cooperation and the ongoing effort to incorporate population and development issues into national policy. Read: Tishreen and in Arabic: Al Baath, Baladna (22 May) Syria News, Syria News