“Investing in youth is a recipe for success,” said Elizabeth Dawes Gay, senior policy analyst at the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), during a webinar on June 22, 2017, organized by PRB’s PACE project on the connections between the population, health, environment (PHE) approach to international development, and achieving the demographic dividend.

 Growing populations in African countries will pressure services, resources, and jobs, said Bernard Onyango, knowledge translation scientist at the African Institute for Development Policy, pointing to Malawi, where population density, food insecurity, and climate shock vulnerability are all increasing. “The main contributor of high fertility rates in Africa is the lack of family planning,” he said, indicating that fertility rates can vary widely across regions and countries. African countries could derive a “temporary economic benefit” from the increase in youth and working age populations, he said, if there is significant investment in human capital and job creation through an integrated approach to sustainable development.

“Strategic investments are critical,” said Gay. To address the unmet need for family planning, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, she recommended improving sexual and reproductive healthcare education and facilities for youth. Initiatives encouraging children, particularly girls, to pursue education are also vital components of efforts to achieve the demographic dividend. Smita Gaith, a policy analyst at PRB, highlighted several community-based sustainability projects that focus on youth and women, such as  Jane Goodall Institute’s programs and DSW’s Youth-to-Youth Initiatives.

While there is considerable scope for sustainable development and holistic approaches, barriers to accessing the demographic dividend include a lack of coordination between policymakers and states, weak technological capacity, and inadequate funding. “Learn lessons from African countries on the demographic dividend—both from what they have achieved and from what they could have done better,” said Onyango.

Read More:

• On integrated population, health, and environment approaches and myths
• Empower, educate, and employ youth to achieve the demographic dividend
• Community-based approaches to population, health, and environment in Tanzania