REGIONAL • INDIC ATIVE STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT PL AN Inequitable access especially by disadvantaged • • • between supply and demand for skilled labour; promote and improve positive living in the region. Lack of comparable standards and qualifications Shortage of critical skills in key areas, which are vital 2.5.3 Employment and Labour • unemployment and underemployment, especially among women and youth. the required infrastructure; Loss of educated and skilled personnel arising from • policy formulation and programme implementation. and AIDS pandemic; The need for the education system to prepare • • collection, analysis, harmonisation, utilisation and skills. dissemination of labour market information and data. 2.5.2 Health and Nutrition Reducing the heavy burden of major diseases • • • • • Lack of a comprehensive regulatory mechanism to promote the informal sector. • mechanisms for addressing emerging communicable diseases such as SARS, EBOLA. Lack of a comprehensive framework to facilitate smooth movement of labour as a factor of production. particularly HIV and AIDS, TB, malaria, cholera and cancer as well as the need to develop and strengthen Lack of a policy framework for promoting social dialogue and social protection. The main challenges in the area of health include: • Weak institutional and human capacity for the technical, vocational, entrepreneurial and indigenous • • Inadequate integration of employment and labour issues in overall economic and social development. students for employment opportunities in both rural and urban areas through the provision of relevant Gender inequalities in the labour markets and inadequate mainstreaming of gender concerns in the the brain drain and the devastating impact of the HIV • Removing structural distortions in the economies of Member States and combating of high levels of High cost of education or training especially in more specialised fields such as medicine and of providing • The need for support and strengthening existing networks of People Living With AIDS (PLWA) to for higher productivity and competitiveness; • • Limited access to high level training and mismatch across all training institutions and countries; • The need for documentation and exploitation of indigenous knowledge systems. groups such as women and disabled people and people from rural areas; 2 1 HIV and AIDS affecting the most productive labour force. • Lack of positive cultural attitudes towards produc- Affordability, access to essential drugs, including tivity, entrepreneurship and innovation. antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), and quality of health care However, there are opportunities for improving and the need for the mobilisation of adequate human capabilities and well-being in the region. The resources and strengthening of key stakeholder for major factors include the creation of appropriate policy the provision of health care infrastructure, health and legal frameworks through the adoption of Protocols services and the training of health personnel. in nearly all the afore-mentioned areas. In addition, some Addressing the problem of lack of understanding or key programmes have been designed to address the appreciation of the gender dimensions and their existing constraints. The region has also been able to mainstreaming in all the health interventions. forge strategic links and partnerships with key Reversing the loss of health professionals arising stakeholders within the region and with specialised inter- from the impact of the HIV and AIDS pandemic and governmental agencies to share expertise, information brain drain. and experiences on best practices in dealing with the Increasing access to services that improve health such identified challenges. as water and sanitation as well as combating of high levels of malnutrition particularly among vulnerable groups such as children, youth, women and the elderly.