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Latwell Nyangu
Zimbabwean students joined over 50 other regional counterparts in Botswana where they are discussing insights and best practices to amplify collective wisdom and ability to curate innovative solutions.
The forum is the fifth edition of the Southern African Regional Students and Youth Conference (SARSYC) and is hosted by the Students And Youth Working on Reproductive Health Action Team (SAYWHAT).
The conference began on July 17 is running under the theme “Building Bridges, Navigating Emerging Issues, advancing access to equitable public health and education”.
SAYWHAT said the conference is a transformative platform.
Countries represented include Angola, Botswana, DRC, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe with up to 192 students attending the event.
SAYWHAT National Coordinating Committee Chairperson and a student at the University of Zimbabwe Miah Tsinakwadi, said SARSYC aims to foster knowledge exchange where students and youths are given the platform to share insights.
“Over 60 key stakeholders graced the event and together with the young people they participated in reflection action meetings focusing on ICPD30, quality education, TB and HIV, and emerging challenges including the scourge of drug and substance abuse, climate change, and the convergence of Artificial Intelligence, digital technology, and public health.
“Reflecting on the impact of climate change on young people’s access to equitable public health and education, Tawonga a student from the University of Zimbabwe stated that
“There is no climate action without climate finance.”
She challenged her peers to familiarise themselves with national budget allocation on climate justice and implored college authorities to normalize climate action clubs on campus.
Young people also shared their vision for governments to support locally produced Artificial intelligence technologies that advance public health and education.
Young women in the Web for Life symposium echoed similar sentiments chanting #YoungWomenOnTheMove and encouraging each other not to be perpetrators of sexual exploitation.
“Mjolo is nice until it doesn’t serve you, then suddenly you are against patriarchy”- a young woman from South Africa.
“Another key issue raised by young women is the urgent need to review the Termination of Pregnancy Acts in the region to improve access to SRHR services for young girls and women and improve their health outcomes as well,” she said.
The sentiments echo the ongoing #ASINGADE campaign here in Zimbabwe.
Director Luc Armond Bodea of the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) and Coordinator of the Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA) also graced SARSYC.
Speaking to delegates he emphasised the importance of ZERO HIV infections among the youth. Bodea encouraged young people to know their HIV status and have open conversations with their partners for a future with ZERO HIV infections.
On drug and substance abuse, young people expressed that as students on campus, they are the most vulnerable with knowledge gaps on the critical impacts of this scourge.
Delegates acknowledged the interconnectedness between mental drug and substance abuse with a plea to rehabilitate and not criminalize victims of drug and substance abuse.
Through the SAYWHAT Web for Life symposium and the Mugota/Ixhiba Young Men’s Forum, SARSYC provided students and youth with spaces to interrogate the challenges that young women and young men face in the Southern African Region.
Online Reporter