Tuesday 20 June 2017

SARSYC 2017 CHANGING THE POP CULTURE

CHANGING THE POP CULTURE

I wanna take this opportunity to jump a little bit forward and get inside the Jo-burg University arena in the SARSYC 2017.As we commonly say "you run,you crush",I am fully aware that with this article I might surely crush, for in this post I will be touching a very sensitive issue in the Sexual Reproductive Health arena especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68EyF9U4olQ
Some time in 1997 Ellen DeGenerous made news when she openly came out as a gay celebrity,the whole world received the news with mixed feelings,some hated their once favorite star and yet to some she was an advocate a voice of the voiceless and to herself it was freedom.

Now going back to SARSYC 2017,the theme for this year's conference is Building a business case for a solid future: Promoting Access to Youth SRH services and commodities”.
This is a clear yet packed theme it's saying Promoting Access to Youth SRH service, which means that as long as you a youth you are included in this group,not minding your race,sex and sexual orientation.
The problem we are having as the Sub-Saharan youths we are mixing the Popular culture with our well-being.I will try and explain my point below,

What really is pop culture?

Contemporary lifestyle and items that are well known and generally accepted, cultural patterns that are widespread within a population is called popular culture or pop culture.
As the definition clearly states the pop culture is a lifestyle culture or tradition which is widespread it doesn't necessarily mean that there are people who chose to live a different lifestyle.This is for service providers especially those who serve the public,when delivering a Health Service you should do it in a position of a service provider,why serve the public in a religious manner.Why discriminate people because of their lifestyle.
Even doctors often violate the privacy of LGBTI patients by exposing them to other staff or police, preaching to redeem them, or altogether denying them medical care. The testimony of one such victim of violation illustrates discrimination.

The doctor refused to believe that I was gay; he said he had only heard of gay people on TV and that I was simply lying (even after seeing my anal warts). He then called his colleagues to come spectate. It was quite embarrassing for me. He later told me to go read Leviticus 18:25, I felt judged

http://kmet.co.ke/index.php/newsroom/success-stories/167-access-to-reproductive-health-services-for-the-lgbti-community-will-contribute-to-reduced-hiv-prevalence-in-kenya

SARSYC 2017 is offering a once in a lifetime opportunity to openly discuss these issues in Track TWO.
Track 2: Sex and Sexuality- Shining the light on Marginalized Groups LGBTI+, women, People With Disabilities (PWD) and People With HIV (PWHIV).
People with disabilities (PWD), women and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI+) community are usually the most affected and least catered for by SRH services due to the specificity of their needs. This track will facilitate conversations that illuminate and attempt to address the numerous challenges which inhibit these vulnerable groups access to SRH services. It will seek to share experiences in programme design based on living no one behind through inclusive program design that incorporates vulnerable and marginalized communities.
The track is informed by the reality that, although significant work has been done to support people with HIV in general, stigma remains an issue which affects vulnerable and marginalised groups the most, leading in some instances to people refusing to access services which have availed, thereby affecting the outcomes of designed programmes. This track seeks to provide an opportunity for conference attendees to examine and share progressive initiatives and ideas on addressing issues relating to marginalised communities.
I urge the public to support the moves to ensure the LGBTI community accesses sexual reproductive health services a strategy of reducing new HIV infections.We must all actively support the SARSYC in its efforts to decriminalize homosexual conduct in order to increase access of essential HIV prevention, management and care services to LGBTI groups. Such action is imperative if we are to address this recently identified root to HIV infection. As Ban Ki Moon once said  “you don’t have to be gay to fight homophobia”
Let's not judge.I rest my case
To BE continued........................

Monday 19 June 2017

SARSYC 2017 THE REAL DEAL Part2

THE DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDEND EXPLAINED

NB; It would not be fair if I proceed with my story without touching on what the demographic dividend is.
Demographic dividend occurs when the proportion of working people in the total population is high because this indicates that more people have the potential to be productive and contribute to growth of the economy. According to the United National population research, during the last four decades the countries of Asia and Latin America have been the main beneficiaries of the demographic dividend. Advanced countries of Europe, Japan and USA have an aging population because of low birth rates and low mortality rates. Neither the least developed countries nor the countries of Africa have as yet experienced favourable demographic conditions according to the research by UN population division. China’s one child policy has reversed the demographic dividend it enjoyed since the mid 1960s according to a World Bank global development report.
Demographic dividend, as defined by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) means, “the economic growth potential that can result from shifts in a population’s age structure, mainly when the share of the working-age population (15 to 64) is larger than the non-working-age share of the population (14 and younger, and 65 and older).” [1] In other words, it is “a boost in economic productivity that occurs when there are growing numbers of people in the workforce relative to the number of dependents.” [1] UNFPA stated that, “A country with both increasing numbers of young people and declining fertility has the potential to reap a demographic dividend. [1]
Due to the dividend between young and old, many argue that there is a great potential for economic gains, which has been termed the "demographic gift".[2] In order for economic growth to occur the younger population must have access to quality education, adequate nutrition and health including access to sexual and reproductive health.
However, this drop in fertility rates is not immediate. The lag between produces a generational population bulge that surges through society. For a period of time this “bulge” is a burden on society and increases the dependency ratio. Eventually this group begins to enter the productive labor force. With fertility rates continuing to fall and older generations having shorter life expectancies, the dependency ratio declines dramatically. This demographic shift initiates the demographic dividend. With fewer younger dependents, due to declining fertility and child mortality rates, and fewer older dependents, due to the older generations having shorter life expectancies, and the largest segment of the population of productive working age, the dependency ratio declines dramatically leading to the demographic dividend. Combined with effective public policies this time period of the demographic dividend can help facilitate more rapid economic growth and puts less strain on families. This is also a time period when many women enter the labor force for the first time.[3] In many countries this time period has led to increasingly smaller families, rising income, and rising life expectancy rates.[3] However, dramatic social changes can also occur during this time, such as increasing divorce rates, postponement of marriage, and single-person households.[3]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-L3LrYJQi0

Sunday 18 June 2017

SARSYC 2017 THE REAL DEAL Part1

So it was August 2015 when i first heard and saw a new baby in the Southern part of Africa.Zimbabwe a country I was born and bred was the first witness of the wonder-kid, SARSYC as many would come to know the baby,it is just a nickname standing for Southern African Regional Students and Youth Conference.
If I remember  well we were still discussing how the SDGs would benefit the youths of the southern hemisphere of Africa hence it went by the the theme ''Youth SRHR and the Post 2015 Agenda: A time to invest in young people to harness the demographic dividend in Southern Africa."

Harnessing the demographic dividend!!!What is that? I asked myself as these were the main words and the main phrase being used throughout the conference,I will try and talk about it in the next two or three paragraphs,taking Thailand as our case study.

Associated with a rapid decline in fertility, Thailand is experiencing major changes in its age structure. The proportion of the population aged less than 15 is declining, while the proportion in labour force and older ages is increasing. In 2009, the proportion in labour-force ages will reach a peak of 67.8 per cent and will then decline. Therefore the current demographic situation provides Thailand with the opportunity to increase economic growth, an increase often referred to as a demographic dividend. However, a demographic dividend is not automatically realized. This paper argues that Thailand needs three strategies to obtain the maximum demographic dividend: (1) increase productivity through upgrading the quality of the labour force, implementing appropriate macro-economic policies and reforming the financial system; (2) extend the period during which a potential demographic dividend is obtained by encouraging older persons to remain in the labour force; and (3) develop a regional labour market.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441730500317493?src=recsys

The final report of the Southern African Regional Students and Youth Conference on sexual and Reproductive Health (SARSYC) for 2015 edition is now available.
http://www.sarsyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/SARSYC-2015-Report-Final2-min.pdf

end of part 1