EAC develops framework on youth policy

 

The East African Community (EAC) has adopted the Social Development Framework to address issues on youth policy and gender, it was announced on Saturday.

The EAC Social Development Framework; the EAC Youth Policy and the Report on Participatory Gender Audit for EAC Organs and Institutions were adopted during a meeting of Sectoral Council on Gender, Youth, Children, Social Protection and Community Development which ended on Friday.

The meeting also adopted the EAC framework for gender sensitive outcomes and indicators for the 4th EAC Development Strategy (2011-2016); the EAC Gender Mainstreaming Strategy; the EAC Gender Mainstreaming Guidelines and Checklists; and Guidelines for the establishment of National Youth Councils.

Addressing delegates, the chairperson of the Sectoral Council, Mr Mwesigwa Rukutana, Uganda’s minister of State in charge of Gender, Labour and Social Development, commended the EAC secretary general and the team of experts from the Arusha-based Secretariat for the good work of driving the social sector forward.

“A lot of progress has been registered in developing the social sector component of the EAC,” he said.

“Various documents such as the EAC Strategic Plan on Gender, Youth, Social Protection and Community Development, the Consultative Dialogue Framework for Civil Society Organisations and Private Sector, the EAC Policy on Persons with Disability, among others, have been developed,” he added.