KARACHI: Adolescents from various youth associations of Sindh came together at a colourful ceremony organized by UNICEF and the Rural Support Programme Network (RSPN) to celebrate the launch of–“Improving Adolescent Lives in South Asia”–an intervention funded by the IKEA Foundation.

The project–the primary focus of which is to support a reduction in child marriage, particularly among adolescent girls–will be implemented in a number of Union Councils in Ghotki and Khairpur Districts for a period of three years, according to a press release issued by UNICEF on Wednesday.

It is also envisaged that improving access to information and equipping adolescents with life skills as key interventions will strengthen the capacity of adolescents to form and express their opinions with confidence, thereby promoting and protecting the right of the child to participation and freedom of expression.

In addition, parents and communities will be capacitated to understand adolescents’ rights and support their realization through enhanced access to community-based structures equipped to strengthen the protective environment for children. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recently published a General Comment on Realizing the Rights of Adolescents. The Committee highlights that adolescence is a life stage characterized by growing opportunities, capacities, aspirations, energy and creativity, but also significant vulnerability.—NNI