By Mabingue Ngom
Africa is among the wealthiest continents of the world, but its greatest source of wealth is subtle and largely unexploited.
From the West to the East, from the central region and the North to the Southern tips of Africa, her real treasure lies not only in abundant mineral and natural resources, but in the huge potential embedded in the millions of youth found in large numbers in each member country.
Africa is characterised by an estimated population growth rate of 2.5%, twice as high as the global average of 1.2%. 11 African countries have population growth of more than 3%, including 9 countries in the West and Central Africa region.
In the absence of a much faster demographic transition, Africa is headed for an explosion of its population. The population has risen from 179 million in 1950 to exceed the one billion mark today, and according to projections, Africans could represent more than 3.6 billion people by 2100.
Young people are our future and our biggest asset – but only if we can find a way to make them stay, fulfil their potential so they can help build their countries. And for this, we must make the right investments in their future.
Sustainable development cannot be achieved without assuring that all women and men, and girls and boys, enjoy the dignity and human rights to expand their capabilities, secure their reproductive health and rights, find decent work, and contribute to economic growth.
Countries and regions with the greatest demographic opportunity for development are those entering a period in which the working-age population has good health, quality education, decent employment and a lower proportion of young dependents.
Smaller numbers of children per household generally lead to larger investments per child, more freedom for women to enter the formal workforce and more household savings for old age. When this happens, the national economic payoff can be substantial. This is a ‘demographic dividend’.
The rights and dignity of all people lie at the heart of development. This is why UNFPA works to help countries realise the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action, which links investments in each person to sustainable development.
The Fund also supports national policy reviews on relevant legislation and national action plans. These include status and enforcement of laws on child marriage, protection of women’s rights, and youth policies, which form the basis of policy guidance on the investments needed for a demographic dividend.
Transforming people’s lives positively, sustainably and creating a prosperous world by 2030 through treating the planet with respect is the substance of the Sustainable Development Goals. It can and it must be done.
We at UNFPA see investment in adolescents and youth as critical to our region’s future. We are working with governments across the Sahel, Manor River, Gulf of Guinea, Congo Basin and Lake Chad Basin to encourage the development of initiatives which would help young people make the most of their and their families’ lives.
Last year, Burkina Faso launched a National Strategy to end Child Marriage followed this year by Ghana with its National Campaign to End Child Marriage. In Niger alone, more than 10,000 girls enrolled in a programme teaching both literacy and sexual education. More than 40,000 people took part in community dialogues discussing the harmful consequences of early marriage.
Several countries have also passed national legislation against female genital mutilation, including Guinea Bissau, Nigeria and the Islamic Republic of the Gambia.
The African Union has recognised the potential of our youth and has pledged to put adolescents and youth at the centre of its development agenda.
The Agenda 2063 projects the “Africa We Want” by 2063 gives us a strong vision of where we want to go and a road map on harnessing the demographic dividend through targeted investments in our young people. The demographic dividend will also be high on the agenda at the Heads of State and Government summits this year.
By looking after our youth, we will be paving the way to a healthier, more prosperous Africa, for everyone. To realise the SDGs in Africa, harnessing the youth potential is the way to go, and the earlier this takes place, the better for our dear continent.
* Ngom, the UNFPA Regional Director for West and Central Africa, writes from Dakar, Senegal
