Children and youths are elements that can bring about much needed cultural and social changes in South Sudan.
The head of UNICEF in South Sudan Yasmin Ali Haque told the participants at a workshop on Communication for Development to address issues affecting South Sudan that children and youths were key agents of change.She asked the participants to trust children and youth to change understanding and norms within the society.
Dr Haque said almost half of the girls marry before 18, less than half of the mothers are exclusively breastfeeding their babies and the vaccinated children are less than 40 percent.
These are the big challenges South Sudan has to address.
Dr Haque asked the participants to promote positive change in the respective communities, especially on issues affecting women, girls and children, through their own personal choices and example.
Over 60 people from the ten state ministries of health and information, journalists and NGO staff took part in the five-day workshop that concluded on Friday.
The national ministry of Information organized the event with the support of UNICEF.