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Youth Out Reach Project

Young people represent a large and increasing proportion of the population in Vanuatu. Thirty-two percent of the population is between 0-14 years with a population growth rate of 1.5 percent.

The ‘youth bulge’ provides a considerable challenge in meeting the health, education and other social development needs of young people.

A demand for rapid expansion of these services is also accompanied by a need for a significant increase in the decision making and participation ‘space’ available to young people.

Unemployment, limited education opportunities and other socio-economic factors have constrained the capacity of young men and women in both rural and urban environments to make important life choices as individuals, regarding their health, rights and relationships within their families and broader communities.

High rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is one example of this.

Our Youth Outreach Project focuses on building capacity for youth participation via a network of youth volunteers and community stakeholders, in specific sites in and around Port Vila, Luganville, Malampa Province and Penama Province.

The focus is on strengthening young peoples’ participation in decision making on a number of levels – decision making about their own lives, in their families, in their communities and in the involvement of other programs.