Something struck me during a virtual event I was leading last week. A young person captured in a few words the essence of why we had gathered together.
"As a young innovator, raising funds was a challenge. My resolve was unwavering because I believe in innovation and the power of youth," said Mack Marangu, Founder of TotoRegister.
Not for the first time was I in awe of the ability of young people to peel away jargon like an onion and expose a powerful core. They have an enviable ability to cut to the heart of real issues affecting real people. This makes them a valuable ally on our latest mission - using innovation to empower young people to combat harmful practices in East Africa.
As a man, I find myself at a loss for words on these matters. Too many girls have their futures darkened by being forced into marriages with older men while still children themselves. And too many girls have their bodies violated in the still rampant practice of female genital mutilation, with no understanding why this practice is against their rights.
Why am I on this mission critical? Because I shudder to think of the difficulties my mother, my sister or my daughter would have endured if they had been subjected to these horrific practices. As a man, I never found myself under threat like this. It grieves me that women and girls close to me could be at risk, and it's surprising just how prevalent that risk is.
Although FGM has been made illegal in many countries, it still affects millions of women and girls, particularly in Africa. At the current rate, more than 50 million girls in Africa are at risk of undergoing this harmful practice by 2030 unless we take concerted action.
These shocking figures are why I feel proud of our mission to create a safer world, where women and girls can live free from violence and harmful practices. And I'm grateful for the commitment of so many young people who are joining us on the noble path to accelerate our efforts to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
For me, June marked a significant milestone in this raging battle, with the launch of our Social Innovation Toolkit and Innovation Digital Transformation (IDT) Strategy. They are part of a gameplan by UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, to use innovation and digital transformation to improve the lives of women and girls in East and Southern Africa.
The new strategy is a game-changer. It will help us take sexual and reproductive health services to all corners of the region, especially remote and hard-to-reach areas. By improving the quality and continuity of care for all, we aim to reduce maternal and newborn deaths.
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Launched at the same time, our Social Innovation Toolkit will help us end harmful practices such as FGM and child marriage. Innovation is an important accelerator if we want to achieve the ambitious SDG targets. Our toolkit will equip young people, especially adolescents and girls, with the resources they need to develop innovative solutions to end harmful practices like these.
Titled Addressing Harmful Practices through Social Innovation: A UNFPA Innovation Guide for 'YOU' and Start-ups, it provides practical guidance for young innovators and connects them to social enterprise growth support within and outside Africa. This interactive, self-help toolkit fosters the development of new ideas, encouraging young people to participate actively in their own development.
Innovators in Africa face many challenges, such as lack of investment, limited entrepreneurship support and poor market access. Despite these challenges, young people are leading change in many ways, and this toolkit will support their efforts and help them scale up their innovative solutions.
For me, innovation and digital technology are no longer buzzwords. They are lifelines powering us towards sustainable development, which will help us actualize the Africa we want.
UNFPA works with young people, as active agents of change, to end harmful practices across Africa. We call on young innovators to take advantage of this toolkit to support our collective effort to end harmful practices against women and girls on the continent. Because it's time we ensure them a better future - the future they deserve.
