Secretary-General, in Message, Tells Meeting on Africa’s Demographic Dividend with Right Investments, Young People Could Be Region’s Greatest Asset

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message, as delivered by Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), to the event on Strengthening Partnership to Accelerate Africa’s Demographic Dividend, in New York today:

I commend His Excellency Roch Marc Christian Kabore, President of Burkina Faso, for convening this dialogue on strengthening partnerships to accelerate Africa’s demographic dividend. I thank the other leaders from across the subregion who are also joining this discussion.

According to United Nations estimates and projections, Africa is expected to account for more than half the world’s population growth over the next 35 years.  More than 30 per cent of Africa’s population is between the age of 10 and 24, and will remain so for at least the next 20 years.  With the right investments, these trends could be the region’s greatest asset.

Despite the relatively high economic growth of some countries on the continent and improvements on human development indicators, Africa still faces poverty, inequality, an uneven distribution of resources, governance and environmental challenges and armed conflicts.  These factors have pushed many young people to make perilous attempts to find opportunities beyond the continent.

Giving Africa’s young people a better chance means putting them first.  This will require multiple, intersecting investments, from building human capital to protecting human rights.  It calls for access to health and reproductive services, and an end to child marriage, early and unplanned pregnancies, sexual violence and female genital mutilation.

Harnessing the demographic dividend is not only a pathway to achieving sustainable development, it can also build resilience and prevent radicalization.  The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as continental frameworks such as the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Common African Position on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, can help us achieve our shared goals.  When countries understand how their current and future population age structure will affect development, they can develop policies that nurture the young, advance the productivity and well-being of the working age population, and ensure security for older persons.

I would like to express my appreciation for the leadership demonstrated by many African Heads of State and Governments on the issue of the demographic dividend, and for the efforts of all those who are championing action for and with Africa’s youth.  The United Nations, including the United Nations Population Fund and the World Bank, will continue to support your efforts.  Please accept my best wishes for a productive gathering.