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Date : 25/09/2004
Source: Ministry of Health
Title: N Madlala-Routledge: Launch of Emathulini Love Life Youth Centre


MS NOZIZWE MADLALA-ROUTLEDGE, MP, DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH, AT THE LAUNCH OF THE EMATHULINI LOVE LIFE YOUTH CENTRE'S BODY Y 'S PROGRAMME, 25 September 2004

Master of Ceremony,
Distinguished guests,
Honourable members,
Amakhosi,
Izinduna,
NGOs and CBOs,
Community,
Young people,
Ladies and gentlemen.

Last week saw the passing away of two prominent South African freedom fighters, Reverend Beyers Naude and Comrade Ray Alexander-Simons. One a Christian and the other a Communist, their lives converged around the same cause of fighting for the freedom of the oppressed black majority. As we celebrate a decade of freedom and democracy, we honour them for the sacrifice they made.

We salute them for making the correct choice of taking the side of the oppressed and downtrodden, as opposed to those who fought to sustain a system that favoured white South Africans. As we celebrate heritage month, it is proper that we remember those who have helped liberate and reconstruct our country. But, in particular, celebrating the lives of these two stalwarts of our struggle must serve to remind us that despite the many challenges facing the youth of our country and the world, like poverty, unemployment and disease, it is possible to live a full and rich life.

We call upon all South Africans to rally together in their honour to carry on the struggle they waged. The lives of these two fallen heroes are a symbol of the special character of the national liberation movement in that it brought together the widest diversity of people, uniting them for the same cause.

Although the content and form of that struggle have changed from resistance to participation, we need to tackle it with the same energy and determination. That struggle is the fight against poverty and unemployment. It is the fight for the removal of all the remaining vestiges of the apartheid legacy. It is the fight against communicable diseases, many of which are preventable. It is a struggle for the delivery of basic services to all our people. We now have a people's government, which we voted into power.

Government takes these challenges very seriously. As you know, the ANC as the ruling party has made certain promises to the people of South Africa, on which government has started to deliver. When he opened Parliament, President Mbeki committed drew up a tight schedule of delivery, which we, his cabinet must honour. Indeed, at the July press briefings, the different government clusters reported to the nation what progress has been made. Through these clusters, the various ministers produced their scorecards.

It is now your turn, the people of South Africa as a whole to produce your scorecards. What have you done? We each have a responsibility to assist the government in its transformation agenda. We need to help accelerate the programme to transform the lives of our people for the better. You can do this even if you are unemployed. You can offer your services to the people as a volunteer. Government has launched a youth service. Through this service, we support the youth to get skills so that they can help their communities. Government will help you to help others.

Just to help you know where to find the information. Those of you who have access to the Internet, and I hope it is many of you, the Government has opened a website on its Programme of Action. The website address is: www.gov.za.

When President Mbeki addressed Parliament on 23 June 2004 he said, "We will open a page containing information of the Government's Programme of Action. By checking on this page, the public will be able to follow progress with regard to the implementation of this Programme of Action. It will also be possible for the public to communicate its views about the Programme directly to the Government through the Internet and the more traditional ways and means."

To give you an idea of what is on this page, I have printed the Government's Programme of Action Social Cluster. It is only six pages. If you look at this report, you will see where we are in terms of the comprehensive social security system. You will see that the child support grant will within two years be extended to children up to 14 years of age. This way, 3,2 million additional children will become eligible for the child support grant.

Your task would be to make sure that the children that qualify for the grant are registered and entered into the database. Your task would also be to make sure that thieves are not helping themselves to this money, which is meant only for children who have no one to look after them, not those who have working parents. We hear of people who are collecting this money who have no children at all. This is stealing and you should help us catch the thieves and lock them up!

Another example from this report on HIV and AIDS, says by March 2005 113 health facilities for the roll-out of the comprehensive Plan on Management, Treatment and Care will be fully operational and 53, 000 people on treatment. Progress to date is that 120 facilities have been identified for rollout; 30 accredited, 52 were due for accreditation in August 2004 and 6, 000 people were receiving antiretroviral treatment by end of June 2004 and clinical guidelines have been finalised.

We expect that these numbers will grow quickly now that all the necessary steps have been finalised. We need you to find the people who are in need of treatment and encourage them to go for voluntary counselling and testing, so that if they qualify they can get the life-saving treatment. Although ARV's do not cure HIV and AIDS, they can help extend lives.

I am privileged to have this opportunity to address you, on this very special day; Love Life, the launch of Emathulini Lovelife Youth centre's, body Y's programme. Let's embrace this day because it will form part of our history as our country celebrates its 10th year of Freedom. It will be remembered as the day when the youth of Emathulini took their lives into their own hands, by mobilising the youth to take care of their bodies and thus preserve themselves ant their future. My topic for today is: "A healthy mind dwells in a healthy body, so be Body Wise".

Ladies and gentlemen, I strongly believe that as South African citizens, we should ensure that we promote healthy lifestyles and respond to youth issues as a matter of urgency. Our young people are our future generation. The economy of our country is depending on them; therefore if we don't bank in our youth, our future is doomed to fail. The issues that facing young people that requires urgent attention, are as follows:

* Teenage pregnancy
* HIV and AIDS
* Substance abuse
* Mental health
* Unintentional injuries: road accidents
* Nutrition disorders

Your celebration today will help tackle these issues head-on. Even in the face of such serious challenges as HIV and AIDS, it is important to remember that it is possible to live a rich, safe and full life. The challenge is to make the correct choices and already, by coming here today, to identify yourself with the campaigns aimed at tackling these challenges. You have taken the first step.

As parents, government officials, community leaders and people from all walks of life, we have to support young people as they grow, develop, and acquire skills for healthy living.

Referring to the research that was conducted by the Department of Health, the Medical Research Unit and the Department of Education on South Africa's Youth Risk Behaviour Survey during 2002, (Umthente uhlaba usamila).

The survey results showed that the well-being of an entire generation (youth and adolescents) are under the threat as 4% of our young people are already obese, 6.5% of adolescents are frequent smokers, and one out of every three had used alcohol in the past month. Further more, 9% of our young people have used dagga in the past month, while 14% have had sex before the age of 14, and 4 out of 10 have been sexually active.

Our young people are also physically inactive as clearly demonstrated by the fact that 37% did not participate in any health benefiting activity at school during the past week.

The Department of Health has developed Policy Guidelines such as Youth and Adolescent Health, School Health and the Mental Health Policy Guidelines to address the youth health issues. One of the goals set by the National Department of Health is to achieve quality care and thereby reduce the mortality and morbidity rate amongst youth and adolescents.

This includes the lowering of teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, violence and abuse of young people. This goal is being implemented through programmes such as the life skills, HIV and AIDS Education Programme and the specialised programme called Youth Friendly Services that is conducted in partnership with NGOs such as Love Life and the Planned Parenthood Association of South Africa (PPASA).

There are 72 health facilities across the country that are youth friendly but all 4 000 health facilities need to be transformed into youth friendly service providers; therefore everybody's assistance is needed. Government cannot do this task alone, parents, teachers, health care workers and the community need to join hands to make the difference in the life of our young people.

Ladies and gentlemen we are gathered here to celebrate another initiative to assist young people in choosing and living a healthy lifestyle. Let me briefly explain what this Body Y's programme entails.

Body Y's programme offers the following services, to promote a healthy lifestyle amongst young people:

* Contraceptive methods, treatment of STIs, information and counselling, voluntary counselling and testing as well as pregnancy testing
* A fitness programme that, in addition to physical fitness, looks at weight and height
* Healthy sexuality, which empowers young people with information, that allows them to make informed decisions and also assist in healthy living
* Young people are encouraged to live life to the fullest through motivational activities
* Debates that give young people a chance to talk about issues that affect their lives and also empower them to be assertive
* A wide range of sporting activities are offered and linked to real life, for example defence tactics are changed into life tactics to protect oneself against life challenges
* Young people are also informed and empowered with advanced technology, e.g. computer skills, equipping them to live in the modern world.

The importance of Body Y's programme as explained tries to nurture both the adolescents and youth's body and mind. Therefore it is important for young people to take this initiative and be part of the programme because they are the architects of the future.

Lastly ladies and gentlemen, I am convinced that as South African citizen we can be able to guide and assist our young people to live healthy lifestyles by ensuring that we provide them with specific programmes that can address their daily challenges. But remember to treat young people with respect and dignity, as they are our future leaders.

I thank you.

Issued by: Ministry of Health
25 September 2004

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