I
n recent years, Swaziland has made signifcant progress in developing
national policies, laws and strategies of relevance to youth. The country
adopted its frst National Youth Policy in 2009, ratifed the African Youth
Charter in 2013 and has developed public policies in a range of areas
such as education and training (2010), gender (2010), disability (2013), and
sexual and reproductive health (2013). In the same period, Swaziland has
adopted a number of international frameworks, and worked with international
organisations to develop programmes that seek to improve the lives
of young people.
However, despite these commitments, the majority of young people in
Swaziland face signifcant challenges and exceptionally poor outcomes -
particularly in the areas of health, employment and participation. The
country has the highest rate of HIV prevalence in the world, one of the highest
rates of youth unemployment in Africa, and opportunities for young
people’s political participation are seriously, and sometimes violently,
curtailed. In all of these areas, and more, young women consistently experience
worse outcomes, and face multiple barriers that restrict their full
participation in the life of the country.
It is this gap between aspirational policy frameworks and the realities
experienced by young people in Swaziland with which this review is concerned.
With support of the New York-based Open Society Foundation’s
Youth Initiative, a team of young researchers sought to investigate the extent
to which public policies that afect youth, refect their aspirations, ambitions,
and realities. The review also aims to identify potential opportunities
to improve outcomes for youth in the country