UN Analysis Final.pdf - United Nations in Cambodia

IX CONCLUSIONS &
RECOMMENDATIONS
Any set of recommendations from this Situational Analysis of Cambodian Youth needs to be grounded
in the tremendous strides that have occurred in the country over the past 15 years. For example,
illiteracy has decreased as participation in primary and secondary education has increased. While
Cambodia has a long way to go to make education equally accessible in rural areas and equally available to
girls as for boys, it has already made great advances towards achieving that goal. Moreover, while there is
need to strengthen health information and service delivery infrastructures, this analysis notes the substantial
strides made in reducing HIV prevalence in the country.
The extent of the interrelation between the problems faced by Cambodian youth is striking. For example,
rural poverty diminishes the likelihood of obtaining an education. Uneducated people are more likely to
have large families. Moreover, rural poor who migrate to the cities for work are more likely than others to be
homeless and unemployed, and thus more likely to turn to criminal behaviour or to seek employment as
unskilled labourers in Thailand and Malaysia. Those who remain in rural communities are more likely to live on
subsistence farming, perpetuating the cycle of poverty and stress that lead to sexual and physical abuse.
The following recommendations are based on the present Situational Analysis and enhanced at a workshop
held in February 2009. These suggestions are presented with the awareness that young people are the hope
for the nation. And with the awareness that without aggressive and coordinated set of interventions with
government, bilateral organizations and NGOs, the demographic dividend that could flow from the rapidly
growing number of youth entering both reproductive age and the work force, may well become a national
nightmare.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The recommendations one – six are crosscutting. Specific recommendations under the themes of education,
health, employment, vulnerability/social protection and , , rights and participation are found in the matrix
below:
1. Provide technical and financial support to accelerate a final draft
of The Cambodian National Youth Policy
Ensure inclusion of youth in decision making and development planning within the policy.
ToR prepared for consultant and timelines developed by end of March 2009
Led by UNRCO with UNICEF, UNFPA, UNV and UNESCO.
2. Strengthen Strategic Information about young Cambodians to inform policy
and programming in 2010 and beyond.
Building on MoEYS support, implement a national baseline survey of mainstream Cambodian youth
that includes the topics of sexual and reproductive health, education, disability, work, family life, media
and IT influence, mental wellbeing, drug and alcohol abuse and selected health risk behaviour.
Situation Analysis of Youth in Cambodia
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