The ZNFPC Director Technical Services, Ms Mercy Marimirofa delivered a presentation on, ‘Positioning Youth at the Forefront of Sustained Family Planning Coordination in Zimbabwe.’ She highlighted that, Young people aged 10–24 years make up 32% of Zimbabwe’s population and they are key drivers of legitimacy, innovation and social mobilization in family planning (FP).
ZNFPC plays a leading role in promoting inclusive policies that address the needs of adolescents and youth, despite ongoing challenges such as stigma and restrictive consent laws.
Ms Marimirofa proffered three models for youth inclusion, including Peer Educator Movement were young people are trained as Peer Educators and lead in all youth initiatives. They review and plan for their activities through coordinated forum meetings. Another model being Coordination Mechanisms, in which youth in coordination platforms, a youth focal point within the FP2030 technical working group co-chairs meetings on adolescent programming in different fora. The third model is the Youth-led Service Delivery Channels such as Youth center models were youth-run digital platforms and mobile outreaches for young people.
The results of such interventions are increased youth engagement at national policy dialogues, Parliamentary engagement through SMART advocacy and improved Youth-driven research in SRHR.