Project Proposal for the

FIRST MEETING OF THE AFRICAN YOUTH SAFE ABORTION ALLIANCE

The African Youth Forum on Safe Abortion

Where and When;

Johannesburg, - South Africa

01 – 03 April2015

Project Implementer;

AFRICAN YOUTH SAFE ABORTION ALLIANCE (AYOSA)

Email:

Total Project Cost

$58,209

AFRICAN YOUTH SAFE ABORTION ALLIANCE (AYOSA)

Project Proposal for the

The African Youth Forum on Safe Abortion

FIRST MEETING OF THE AFRICAN YOUTH SAFE ABORTION ALLIANCE

Johannesburg, - South Africa

01 – 03 April2015

Rationale

At least 66,500 women and girls, mostly in developing countries, die from unsafe abortion each year, and about five million more are hospitalized with serious complications. The women and girls who are most affected are poor, young, rural, ill-educated and otherwise vulnerable. Poor African women face the highest risks of death and injury from unsafe abortion. Unsafe abortion has severe economic and health consequences, imposing huge burdens on poor countries’ already struggling public health systems and broader societal costs such as lost productivity, social stigmatization, and children left motherless.

Many circumstances put women in situations where they have to make a decision regarding whether or not to continue their pregnancies. Ethical, legal, medical and social situations can influence a woman’s decision. However in the end, regardless of the legal or moral prohibitions, or the lack of economic or social resources, millions of women decide to electively terminate their pregnancies even if it runs the risk of costing them their lives.

It is important to note that 60% of the African Population is below 24 years of age. Youth, being the bearers of current actions are integral in any development process. The African Youth Safe Abortion Alliance aims to spear-head access to, and quality of, sexual and reproductive health and the rights of adolescents and young people throughout Africa.

The first meeting of the African Youth Safe Abortion Alliance will provide a platform where founding members will collect ideas from Youth Activists on safe abortion in Africa and intends to use the same forum to institutionalize the alliance and allow members to actively participate and take ownership.

Despite efforts and the significant progress made by African Member States, it is clear that current progress still falls short of what is required for Africa to achieve the MDG 4 and 5 targets. The desire for delayed child bearing is becoming more common among African youth. Consequently there is a growing and changing need for family planning among youth (Ndola Prata and Karen Weider 2012). However, in the last few decades, governments and family planning programs have not given the unique needs of young people, the necessary emphasis, despite this being a large segment of the continent’s population.

There is a huge risk, that if countries do not address the needs with in the extremely young age structure through such investment as scaling up Family Planning, young people will not achieve their full potential for economic growth, and subsequently the opportunity that comes through a demographic dividend.

Continental data on key indicators such as:

  • Adolescent fertility rates
  • Access to modern contraception
  • Integrated services
  • Unsafe abortions

It is in view of the above that the Africa Youth Safe Abortion Alliance (AYOSA) seeks to convene an African youth consultation forum for youth organization and medical student from all over Africa, scheduled to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa. The forum will avail the young participants the opportunity to interact with medical doctors and health lawyers, SRHR and family planning experts, and other stakeholders and highlight SRHR challenges faced by young people; work out innovative solutions and forge a collective resolve in ensuring that safe abortion and other youth SRHR needs are adequately positioned in the post 2015 development agenda.

About the alliance

The African Youth Alliance on Safe Abortion is a continental network of young people that works to increase access to, and quality of, safe abortion, sexual and reproductive health and the rights of adolescents and young people throughout Africa. The Youth Alliance envisions a world where the diversities of all young people are respected and celebrated, and where they are empowered and supported to fully and freely exercise their sexual andreproductive rights.

Sexual and reproductive rights are human rights, and therefore apply equally to young people. Young people have a valuable contribution to make to society and must be given ample opportunities to voice their needs and opinions in all policy and decision-making processes in a way that is respected and fully incorporated.

The Youth Alliance also believes that all women, irrespective of age, have the right to access medically safe and legal abortion care. Unplanned and unwanted pregnancies are a common situation faced by women throughout the world. Many circumstances put women in situations where they have to make a decision regarding whether or not to continue their pregnancies. Ethical, legal, medical and social situations can influence a woman’s decision. However in the end, regardless of the legal or moral prohibitions, or the lack of economic or social resources, millions of women decide to electively terminate their pregnancies even if it runs the risk of costing them their lives.

Implementation of the project will actively involve the participation of all the members of the alliance while CEGI coordinates centrally the activities and their organization. Again, CEGI is going to enter into contract with donor on behalf of the alliance as a legally entity and secretariat. The activities would involve consultations with stakeholders, mobilization of the youth organizations, election of the steeling committee and country coordinators, development of the five year strategic plan for the alliance and endorsing the alliance constitution. Its key strategies are such as awareness raising, conduct advocacy, and documentation of evidence of safe or unsafe abortion in the African communities.

The youth organizations will support legal reform of the abortion law through engaging their communities and amassing support among community people for reform. Through its actions, AYOSA will also contribute to strengthening the ability and rights of girls and young women in Africa to obtain safe abortion through joint collaborations with other CBOs/youth organizations and health institution.

Project Goals

  • To mobilize support for youth advocacy towards contributing to national policies and legal reform efforts for safe abortion and reproductive health and rights accessibility in Africa
  • To lobby and mobilize youth organizations in Africa region for popular participation leading to meaningful and legitimate law reform process on abortion in Africa.

Aims and objectives of the forum

  • Provide a platform and strengthen the coordination youth and engagement strategy
  • Institutionalize the AYOSA by agreeing on rules and regulations and conducting initial elections.
  • Develop a position paper on Safe Abortion in Africa for presentation to head of states of African countries through African Union.
  • To enhance and strengthen the prerequisite skills and capacity needed by alliance members actively
  • To lobby and mobilize youth organizations to participate in building movement leading for legal reform on abortion in Africa.
  • To identify and activate youth advocacy groups for increased voices for safe abortion and sexual reproductive health and rights for young people by December 30th, 2016
  • To increase knowledge of safe abortion and reproductive health rights among the youth and the general public in Africa by December, 2016

Target Group

The project targets to mobilize youth organizations in Africa who should champion advocacy initiatives for safe abortion and accessible reproductive health services. The secondary target groups include women, researchers, stakeholders and reproductive health service providers who should change their negative attitudes and practices regarding abortion.

Expected Meeting results

  • Adopted guiding principles of the alliance, signed by all members
  • An African youth Position Paper on Safe Abortion signed by all Alliance Members
  • Adopted of the draft AYOSA five year strategic plan
  • Knowledge, new ideas and practices shared for potential replication in respective countries
  • Strengthened existing partnerships and coordinating mechanisms for African Youth working on Safe Abortion and SRHR.
  • It is expected that as a result of the African youth forum there will be a built movement lobbying and mobilizing towards a legitimate legal reform on abortions. The forum will also develop a communiqué which will be submitted to African government recommending actions on legal reform on abortions in Africa. And it will also form a movement of advocates on safe abortion at different regions in Africa
  • The youth forum is expected to be highly interactive, in view of the items to be discussed. Recommendations adopted, shall guide the African continent in addressing unsafe abortions challenges within the health sector and other key sectors that impact on the health of young women and girls not forgetting youth in general.
  • Through sharing of challenges/experiences, the lessons learnt will be used to tailor the SRHR interventions on the continent. The outcomes will also help the AUC Youth Division in fulfilling its mandate to support Member States in providing technical assistance to develop, review and strengthen appropriate youth SRH policies and strategies.
  • Furthermore, by exploring the quality of health systems and considering challenges and opportunities, the forum shall come up with more effective approaches and tools for the improvement of access to safe abortion and SRHR in Africa. Specific attention would be paid to issues that underpin vulnerability such as the status of young women and girls legislative framework on access to services, community and service provider attitudes and weak rights protection systems

Methodology

The African Youth Alliance on Safe Abortion will convene a 3 days meeting of founding alliance members and young activists/advocates on safe abortion to discuss strategies towards mobilizing young people to participate and engage safe abortion work.

The African youth forum on safe abortion will be structured in such a way that will be plenary sessions, breakaway parallel discussions, official forum opening which all will funnel into a final plenary discussion to consolidate all the key issues, actions and recommendations. These will be synergized into the final outcomes of the forum and the launching of the African Youth Safe Abortion Alliance will be launched

Evaluation

The conference itself will be evaluated through a questionnaire to confirm that the organizers met the stated goals of creating a position paper, building stronger network relationships, and creating a plan to launch AYOSA. There will be an evaluation after the conference to see if key objectives are achieved and moving forward.

Language

The youth forum will be conducted in English and simultaneous translation in French.

Participants

The African Youth Forum on Safe Abortion will bring together a broad range of young people across diverse relevant sectors and youth bodies in Africa.25 participants from African countries between age of 15 and 35 years of age will attend. Care will be taken to reflect the diversity of Africa’s youth including sub-regions, gender, civil society, marginalized key populations and disability. Participation will also include Strategic high-level partners, such as UNFPA Executive Director, Selected Health Ministers, Youth Ministers and other strategic partners to be confirmed at a later stage.

Dates and Venue

The African Youth Forum on Safe Abortion will be held in Johannesburg from01 – 03 April 2015in South Africa

Logistics, Visas

Sponsored Participants will be provided an economy class ticket for the most direct route and daily subsistence allowance. All participants are expected to apply for visas in advance and to travel with their yellow fever vaccination cards. All participants registered will receive an invitation letter from AYOSA to facilitate their visa applications.

Budget

The African Youth Safe Abortion (AYOSA) therefore request for funds for travel, accommodation, meals, living expense, promotion materials, Communication, hotel venue

The total budget cost for this African youth forum is $58,209

AYOSA is also seeking partners on this forum to help in providing technical and financial support towards this first ever African Youth Forum on Safe Abortion.

Founding Alliance members

AYOSA ensures that sexual and reproductive health and rights, safe abortion, gender equality and the empowerment of young women, girls and youth are central components of AYOSAThe founding members are;

1)Centre for Girls and Interaction (CEGI) – Malawi;

2)Fortress of Hope Africa – Kenya;

3)Youth Advocates Ghana (YAG) – Ghana;

4)Forum for the development of youth with disability (FDYD) – Malawi;

5)Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia (PPAZ) – Zambia;

6)Talent Youth association – Ethiopia;

7)Enukweni Community based Organization (ECOBO); Malawi

8)AHUSADEC, Action Humanitaire pour la Sante et le DeveloppementCommunautaire – DR Congo

9)Youth Intercommunity Network – Kenya;

10)The Children and Community Initiative for Development – Gambia

11)The InternationalSocietyfor Development - Central African Republic;

12)African Women & Children Development Organization of Liberia - Liberia;

13)Vision In Action Foundation Cameroon – Cameroon;

14)Eshet Children and Youth Development Organization/ECYDO –Ethiopia

15)Youth for Change –South Africa

16)Tanzania Youth Development- Tanzania

17)Centre for Youth Development and Transformation CYDT - Zimbabwe

18)Dandelion Kenya - Kenya

19)The African Youth Task Force on 2015 agenda- Africa

Proposed Budget

-Please find the attached file

For Further Information

Additional information could be obtained from the following:

For Further Information

Godfrey Kangaude
Nyale Institute
P. O. Box 30860, Chichiri
Blantyre 3 - Malawi
Office: 0212250216
Cell: +265997953373
Email:
/ Jody-Lee Fredericks
Attorney
Women's Legal Centre
( 021) 424 5660 - South Africa
Email: / RodicaComendant, MD, PhD
ReproductiveHealthTrainingCenter, Director
ICMA operations coordinator - Coordinating team,
InternationalCampaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion
20 Melestiustr,Chisinau,MD2001,Moldova
Tel.:373 22 35 50 72, Cell: 373 69139878,
Fax: 373 22 35 50 73
E-mail:
Websites:,

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