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| Vindhya during Pre-conference Youth Workshop with a smile... |
On December 7-11, Nada India’s youth advocate Vindhya was at
the pre forum youth workshop and the second Global NCD Alliance Forum in
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates!
The second Global NCD Alliance Forum was organized by the NCD
Alliance (NCDA) in partnership with local host organization, Friends of Cancer
Patients (FoCP). 350 members of the NCD movement from 68 countries attended the
Forum from 9 – 11 December in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. This year, an
increased number of youth delegates and people living with NCDs
participated in this unique event, which reflected the Forum’s objective
to promote the engagement of the next generation and people living with NCDs as
central parts of the NCD movement.
Vindhya was among the 22 youth delegates who called on their
peers, CSO and government to step up the pace on NCDs. The enthusiasm and engagement of 22 youth delegates was reflected in
the Youth Call to Action produced at the Forum, as a time-bound
and measurable agenda for the next generation in the lead up to the 2018 UN
High-Level Meeting on NCDs.
Experiences shared, lessons learnt, and
solutions discussed
The pre Forum
Youth workshop developed a network of youth advocates focused on the non-
communicable disease global agenda in the lead up to the UN High Level Meeting
on NCDs in 2018
The focus was on how to engage the right
people at the right time; i.e.
mapping the key stakeholders, setting up the priorities and the importance and
impact of these key priorities. The youth advocates were exposed to some excellent
examples of successful stakeholder engagement and how it made an impact at
local, national and global levels.
The key
stakeholders identified by the youth advocates involved The Ministry of health,
finance, social justice, youth, PLWNCDs, caregivers, WHO, private sector,
pharmaceutical companies, Hospitals, NGOs...the list is endless but the one who
can influence and is interested will lead. And what are the priorities for
NCDs? Finance, awareness, access to health care, risk factors and youth
behavior, prevention, youth participation, PLWNCDs and the commercial determinants
of health.
The participation of youth and people
living with NCDs is extremely important at all levels; we learnt how to develop a comprehensive
agenda for young advocates using an
integrated and inclusive approach keeping
in mind that we need room for all,
health for all.
“Jack Fischer from NCD Free told us why
is it important to have a story to tell while pitching in for an idea. It is
easier to connect when you have a real story equipped with facts to tell. There
are more chances that the other person will actually listen to you when you can
strike a connection. Find your story (could be yours, of a family member,
friend or anyone who you know), equip it with facts and present it with your
idea to bring in a social change in no more than 60 seconds. Always remember
that the busy world doesn't have more than 60 seconds to listen to you and your
story. So go and find your story to change the world.”- Vindhya,
Youth Advocate, Nada India
Vindhya on behalf of Nada India also set
up some commitments for #India at the Forum:
Key highlights from the Pre Forum Youth
Workshop
Priorities for “Youth”
·
Throughout the
development of the health related frameworks, young people should be at the forefront in
advocating for priorities to improve
health and wellbeing.
·
Youth
voices can put pressure on decision-makers to recognize and include issues that are often side lined,
particularly related to alcohol and substance
abuse.
·
Young people can
develop grassroots campaigns on the prevention and management of alcoholism and should
advocate for policy-level changes.
·
Many
of these young people are researchers helping to generate evidence being used
to support these changes.
·
As
young people, they bring unique experiences and perspectives to health agendas
and have a right to negotiate the future health of the communities in which we
live.
·
Ahead
of next year’s high level meeting, advocates must ensure that the priorities of
young people are heard and acted upon at every level and that governments are
held accountable to their health commitments.
·
Ensure
universal and equitable access to high-quality, affordable, age-appropriate
health care.
·
Scale
up financing and resources for prevention, management, and treatment of NCDs
across the life-course.
·
Raise
awareness of children, adolescents, and young people, and sensitize government officials
about the risk factors, prevalence, and impact of alcohol as one of the major
risk factors.
·
Advocacy
for the prevention and control of alcoholism and drug abuse needs substantial
input from youth as drivers of the next generation of innovative solutions and
action for health.
·
Deliver
youth-generated messages on awareness and advocacy priorities via social media,
blogs, and other communication channels.
·
Measuring
progress is essential to ensuring these steps achieve their intended results.
We commit to monitoring delivery against these actions, as well as celebrating
and learning from successes, and identifying further opportunities to sustain
momentum towards next year’s meeting.
“We urge you to
continue the conversations you started here. Continue communicating with
partners – both old and new. Continue listening to and engaging the voices
of the next generation. Continue agitating for change…for health equity…for the
sake of every person living with or at risk of NCDs…for the sake of us
all. – “Katie Dain, CEO, NCD Alliance
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