SIERRA LEONE STATUS OF THE YOUTH REPORT 2012 Table of Contents Table of Contents. .............................................................................................................................. i List of Acronyms. .............................................................................................................................. iii Definitions of Terminologies. ............................................................................................................ v Foreword .......................................................................................................................................... vi Preface. ............................................................................................................................................ vii Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. xviii List of Tables ....................................................................................................................................xix List of Boxes ...................................................................................................................................... xx 1. OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 BACKGROUND/INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 1.1.1 Objective of the Youth Report ................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Overview of Demographic Background: Population Statistics in Sierra Leone ....................... 1 1.2.1 Gender Inequality Index(GII) ................................................................................................... 5 1.2.2 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) ................................................................................... 5 1.3 Overview of the Economy ....................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Macroeconomic Policy in Sierra Leone: 2007-2012 ................................................................ 9 2. YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT ................................................. 10 2.1 Overview ................................................................................................................................ 10 2.2 The Labour Market Situation and the Youth in Sierra Leone ................................................ 11 2.3 Major Drivers of Growth and Employment Creation in Sierra Leone ................................... 18 2.3.1 Sustaining labour intensive public works programmes ........................................................ 18 2.3.2 The agricultural sector .......................................................................................................... 19 2.3.4 The mining sector .................................................................................................................. 22 2.3.5 Tourism sector....................................................................................................................... 23 2.3.6 The marine resources sector ................................................................................................. 23 3. EDUCATION SECTOR ANALYSIS............................................................................................ 24 3.1 Education Development ....................................................................................................... 24 3.1.1 Pre-Primary, Primary and Secondary Education ................................................................... 24 3.1.2 Literacy Levels ....................................................................................................................... 26 3.2 Higher/Tertiary Education Sub-sector .................................................................................. 35 3.3 Technical and Vocational Education and Training(TVET) in Sierra Leone ............................. 43 i 4. HEALTH SECTOR AND OTHER DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS ................................................ 47 4.1 Health Services Delivery ........................................................................................................ 49 4.2 Access to Healthcare ............................................................................................................. 51 4.3 HIV and AIDS ......................................................................................................................... 55 4.4 Malaria .................................................................................................................................. 56 4.5 Reproductive Health: Teenage Pregnancies ......................................................................... 57 4.6 Reproductive Health: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting .................................................... 58 4.7 Substance andDrugAbuse ..................................................................................................... 59 4.8 Persons with Disabilities ....................................................................................................... 59 4.9 Access to Adequate Nutrition ............................................................................................... 60 4.10 Access to Adequate Water .................................................................................................... 60 4.11 Use of Improved Sanitation Facilities .................................................................................... 61 5. YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT: LESSONS LEARNED IN SIERRA LEONE ............ 61 5.1 Governance, Voice and Accountability ................................................................................. 62 5.1.1 Establishment of District Youth Councils .............................................................................. 63 5.2 Case Study Analysis ............................................................................................................... 64 5.2.1 Individual Case Studies .......................................................................................................... 71 5.2.2 Lessons Learned from the Case Studies ................................................................................ 73 6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................... 75 6.1 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................... 75 6.1.1 Macro Level ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 75 6.1.2 Meso and Micro Level ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 75 6.2 Recommendations .............................................................................................................. 79 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................... 85 APPENDIX A1: Statistics of WASSCE Results (2008–2011) ............................................................... 90 APPENDIX A2: Entry Requirements to Universities and Polytechnics .............................................. 95 APPENDIXA3: Additional Case Study: Profile of a Youth Leader ...................................................... 96 APPENDIX A4: Labour Force Participation Rates ............................................................................. 97 ii LIST OF ACRONYMS AfDB African Development Bank AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome BADEA Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa BECE Basic Education Certificate Examinations COMAHS College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences DFID Department for International Development ECOWAS Economic Community for West African States FIAS Foreign Investment Advisory Service FBC Fourah Bay College FGM/C Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting GDP Gross Domestic Product GER Gross Enrolment Rate GII Gender Inequality Index GIZ German International Cooperation GoSL Government of Sierra Leone HDI Human Development Index HDR Human Development Report HEI Higher Education Institutions HEST Higher Education, Science and Technology HIPC Highly Indebted Poor Country HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus HTE Higher or Tertiary Education IDB Islamic Development Bank IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development ILO International Labour Organisation IMF International Monetary Fund IPAM Institute of Public Administration and Management JSS Junior Secondary School MAFFS Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security MDGs Millennium Development Goals MDRI Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative MEST Ministry of Education Science and Technology MICS Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey iv MoFED Ministry of Finance and Economic Development MPI Multidimensional Poverty Index MSMEs Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises MYES Ministry of Youth, Employment and Sports NAYCOM National Youth Commission NCTVA National Council of Technical, Vocational and other Academic Awards NGOs Non-Governmental Organisations NPSE National Primary School Examinations NYEAP National Youth Employment Action Plan OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OPEC Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries