UNICEF GHANA AND YOUTH ADVOCATES GHANA ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP ON U-REPORT

Youth Advocates Ghana-YAG a youth development organized has signed a partnership agreement with UNICEF Ghana on its U-Report Project.

The U-Report is an initiative by UNICEF that uses a free SMS platform to communicate and collect information on issues affecting communities. This program allows young people to join by texting ‘Join’ to the short code 1755, after which they are engaged to answer specific questions on their background for registration. The process continues with weekly polls using survey methodology through the same SMS portal. The result generated from U-Reporters is shared back to the community, government agencies and partners to push for better services for Ghanaians.

Through this partnership with UNICEF, Youth Advocates Ghana with its nationwide network will facilitate and mobilize the participation of young people to join the U-Report platform whiles communicating issues that affect their communities, children and young people in Ghana.

Through the U-Report, important information is widely disseminated and young people are given the voice and platform to express their opinions, add their voice to national discussions, be an active part of the decision-making process and take concrete actions to improve their communities.

Youth Advocates Ghana (YAG) is nationally recognized youth-led non-political, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) located in Nsawam in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Formed in 2011, it is registered with Registrar General’s Department (Registration No. CG 000722012) and with the Department of Social Welfare (Registration No. D.S.W/5450). YAG was formed out of the need to meet the challenges confronting children with respect to sexual abuse and its related consequences. It did so through awareness creation sessions and training programmes and counselling for affected children, their parents and communities.

For the past 8 years, YAG has scaled up its programmes and activities to cover domains like education (scholarship for children), and health (sexual and reproductive health). It has also expanded the target scope from the children to the youth, noting the challenges that especially confront the adolescent and young girls. YAG has gained experience and credibility in these areas of programme implementation and have extended this to the international arena, currently accredited to International Youth Federation and serve as the Secretariat for the 2030 Youth Alliance and the host of the African Youth SDGs Summit, a continental platform promoting the active participation of the youth in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Agenda 2063 of the African Union.