Yogyakarta, 15th July 2014 – In commemoration of the World Population Day 2014, United Nations Population Funds (UNFPA) partnering with Yayasan Anak Bangsa Merajut Harapan (Angsamerah Foundation) launches a pilot program entitled UNALA (meaning your ability to make decision) health service today (15/07) in Yogyakarta. UNALA is a private sector-led health services model designed specifically for youth. The model is piloted in Yogyakarta, a province in Indonesia which has large proportion of youth, with many universities and a mix of rural and urban youth (aged 15-24 years old).
The network of UNALA’s health service providers will offer a comprehensive package of developmentally-appropriate, high-quality, and youth-friendly health services with confidentiality, respect and without judgment. This launches will also commemorate World Population Day which falls on 11 July with a global theme of “Investing in Young People”.
World Population Day seeks to raise awareness of global population issues. There are 1.8 billion people aged 10-24 in the world, making one quarter of the world’s population. Those comprising adolescents (aged 10-19) and youth (aged 15-24). Investing in young people today by promoting healthy habits and ensuring education and employment opportunities, access to health services, and social security coverage for all workers is the best investment to improve the lives of future generations.
“There are currently 65 million youth in Indonesia. In Yogyakarta, young people represent 24% of the population, a total of around 835,000 people. During the next 15 years, they will drive economic and social change,” says Mr. Jose Ferraris, UNFPA Representatives in Indonesia. “It is UNFPA’s mandate to promote the empowerment and well-being of young people and to ensure their safe transition to adulthood. To do so, we need to enhance young people’s participation and secure their rights to education, work opportunities and health.”
To address the gaps in providing reproductive health services for young people, UNFPA has come up with an innovative scheme to engage the private sector in delivery of services through a social franchising approach. The social franchising scheme aims to establish a network of private service providers working closely with youth networks to provide youth with health information and services.
“We are honored by the selection of Yogyakarta as the province/ areawhere UNFPA chose to pilot the UNALA model in Indonesia,” says HRH GKR Pembayun, Royal Princess of the Kingdom of Yogyakarta. “We hope that the model will be able to provide youth-friendly and accessible services for the youth and that this initiative can support youth to have the self-esteem, knowledge and skills to strive to reach their fullest potential.”
The next step is to establish a network of youth organizations and youth-related NGOs that will provide a means for the franchise to provide youth with a broader range of information and activities, including accurate health information, and refer them for services as needed. The youth network will be complemented with demand creation activities such as a website, media campaign and peer outreach.
UNALA is developed to offer youth with high-quality health services that are youth-friendly, confidential and medically competent.
“We need to help youth to get adequate and better health services to ensure they secure their right to education, work opportunities and health, including reproductive health,” says Dr. Nurlan Silitonga, Angsamerah Foundation.
UNFPA is an international development agency committed to fulfilling the vision of a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA partners with governments, non-government organisations, and the private sector by providing technical expertise in the areas of its mandate to address the needs of the people of Indonesia.
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For more information, please contact Ms. Margaretha Sitanggang – National Programme Officer on Youth and ASRH, UNFPA Indonesia (or Sitanggang@unfpa.org mobile +628161692274).
