Monrovia, —Several adolescents and youth-led groups in Liberia have launched a network to advocate for the priorities and needs of young people, including their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
The Liberian Youth Voices for Accelerating the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), launched on 05 December in Monrovia, seeks to harness the voices of young people to realize their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and reduce sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and harmful practices, including female genital mutilation (FGM) and early marriage.
The initiative is part of the Young Voices for Change project by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), with `support from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Liberia. The Project aims to strengthen the capacity of youth-led grassroots organizations to advocate for evidence-based, accountable, and equitable adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health & rights, including preventing SGBV and harmful practices through laws, policies, and programmes.
Speaking when he formally launched the Project, the German Ambassador to Liberia, Jakob Haselhuber, said, “Germany is proud to contribute to the fight to end violence against women and girls and also to the dialogue between men and women on ending gender-based violence and harmful practices in Liberia.”
“The fight to end violence against women and girls will not succeed if it is only led by women because we also need to take men on board,” Ambassador Haselhuber said.
Also speaking, Youth and Sports Minister D. Zeogar Wilson called on the network to be the voice of their generation and act with sincerity and accountability to their peers and the young people of Liberia.