Africa must invest in its youth - UNFPA boss

Professor Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, has urged African countries and their leaders to invest in the continent’s young population in order to promote sustainable development.

He said Africa, until today, depended on its natural products for development. “Ghana has over the years depended on gold and cocoa while Nigeria has depended on its oil and other countries have also been dependant on their rich natural primary products.”

He, however, said the sustainability of a country was its human asset, and as the world goes into the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, Africa must invest in its young population, which was the largest asset it has.

“In doing this, education is very crucial and the quality of the education has to improve not what we have now. The education must have entrepreneurship training, vocational training, creativity and skills so that the young people can see themselves as complete, go out and start a business on their own and not wait to get a job.”

Prof Osotimehin explained that the Sustainable Development Goals were about planet, the people, prosperity and sustainability and that in achieving the goals no country can plan without people. “If you look at the demographic profile of Africa, many countries have up to 70 per cent of their population below the ages of 35 and in many parts 30 per cent are youth, and that are the people Africa must invest in.

“If you want to develop and develop inclusively, then you have to make sure that everyone is part of it.”

Prof Osotimehin, who was in the country to attend the 7th African Conference on Sexual Health and Rights to raise visibility and build continental support for the investment needed in Africa to realise the demographic dividend, said: “The purpose of demographic dividend was about how we can empower young people through education, health and exposure to comprehensive sexual education so they can make choices about their lives.

“When we have that then we have a whole generation of young people who are able to produce, save and grow an economy, and this can only happen with aggressive family planning.”

He said in order to achieve that, government and the private sector must come together and set up schemes that give ready access to credit for young people with appropriate risk management that enables them to take the money and try out things.

“Governments must work with the private sector to make it a reality; people must also take into consideration that not everybody will start and succeed.”

He was speaking to the media after he paid a courtesy call on Professor Fredrick Torgbor Sai, world-renowned expert in the field of population, reproductive health, HIV and AIDS, and gender equality.

Prof Osotimehin praised Prof Sai for promoting the family planning agenda in Ghana, Africa and in the rest of the world. “Ghana, and for that matter Africa, is proud to have an authentic voice like that of Prof Sai over the years and for dedicating most of his life to the well-being of children and women across the globe by championing the cause of making reproductive health information and service accessible to couples and individuals.”

He said his visit to Ghana could not be complete without seeing Prof Sai, adding that the UNFPA would continue to seek knowledge and advice from him.