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Concept Note_Regional Workshop on Strengthening Political Commitment to the Demographic Dividend and Behavior Change

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unfpa

Regional Project on Women's Empowerment
And the Demographic Dividend (SWEDD)

Concept Note
Regional Workshop on Strengthening Engagement
Policy in favor of the Demographic Dividend and Behavior Change
Nouakchott, Mauritania
March 2016
DRAFT 01

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Concept note
Context and justification:
The combined effects of population growth, poverty, and the impact of recurring economic, food, nutritional, and humanitarian crises pose serious challenges to the development of Sahel countries, particularly those involved in the SWEDD project. These countries have a population of approximately 90 million, with over 70% under the age of 35. They face high fertility rates, limited access to reproductive health services and girls' education, widespread child marriage, unemployment, and poverty. This situation has led to the commitment of these countries to appropriately address the effects of population growth, which threaten to undermine all their economic and social development efforts. Only investment in human capital through education, health, and human rights offers the unique opportunity to transform population growth into a driver of development and ensure that these countries capture the demographic dividend.
In order to strengthen the political commitment of countries in this area, the SWEDD project has planned a series of actions under component 3 which is intended to "Promote political commitment and strengthen the capacity for policymaking related to the demographic dividend and the implementation of the Project".

The project will help establish a regional monitoring mechanism capable of providing data on policies aimed at achieving the demographic dividend at country level and their implementation status, the development of a regional progress report, and the establishment and support of a network of parliamentarians, religious leaders and NGOs to advocate and strengthen the political commitment of countries in this area.

The project will also help to establish networks of observatories on the Demographic Dividend at regional and national levels to ensure the collection, monitoring of implementation, review of population policies and integration of the demographic dividend into these policies in addition to capacity building of national managers and institutions involved in the project.

Furthermore, the Center for Studies and Research in Population and Development (CERPOD) of INSAH will provide technical assistance to the countries and the regional secretariat of the project in the implementation of this important component.

In parallel with the implementation of Component 3, a broad regional communication campaign for behavior change will be carried out at the country level, in accordance with their respective socio-cultural contexts, using media and various communication channels and involving religious leaders to strengthen political commitment in the countries

Primary objective :
Discuss the most appropriate approach at the local and regional level between the countries and regional and international institutions involved in the SWEDD project, including CERPOD, to strengthen political commitment to the RMNCHN, the establishment of institutional mechanisms for coordination and data collection and the implementation of a regional communication strategy.
Organizers: UNFPA, World Bank and CERPOD
Duration: 5 days
Date: End of March 2016
Location: Nouakchott (Mauritania)
Participants: 60 participants representing the 6 countries (10 per country) in addition to representatives from UNFPA (country office, regional office and headquarters), the World Bank, CERPOD and identified resource persons and consultants.
The country representatives will be the primary custodians of the structures involved in the implementation of the project (Profile Directors??) and able to make decisions where necessary to provide clarification on positions: National Population Commission (CNP), Directorate, office or institute of Statistics, Directorate of Communication (Ministry of Communication), Directorate of Women's Promotion and/or Gender, Directorate of Youth, parliamentarians, religious and denominational leaders, NGOs, National Coordinator of the SWEDD project.
In addition to country delegations, consultants, resource persons and technical and financial partners will also be invited:
* For each UNFPA country office, the Representative and the SWEDD Focal Point
* A representative from the UNFPA regional office and headquarters
* Coordinator of the World Bank Project in Brussels (TTL)
* CERPOD
* Resource persons and consultants (to be determined)
* Guests with experiences to share (to be determined)

Summary of the action:
Organized jointly by UNFPA, the World Bank, and CERPOD, this workshop will:
* Have a common understanding of the component, the actions envisaged and the respective roles of the different parties involved in strengthening political engagement and advocacy;
* Attend a presentation on the demographic situation at the country level and a simulation on the impact of population growth and the advocacy actions and political commitments it generates at the regional level.
* Demonstrate the importance of collecting, analyzing, and using demographic data to strengthen political commitment to the Demographic Dividend
* To exchange views on advocacy approaches and strengthening the political commitment of decision-makers regarding the demographic dividend, and on good practices in this area at the country level that have made considerable progress in this field;
* Identify the main axes of the regional communication strategy and the modalities of implementation and technical assistance required at the regional and local level.
* Discuss the modalities of support from the regional expert group to countries in the implementation of the communication strategy for behavior change and strengthen the engagement of stakeholders in issues related to access to RMNCHN services.
* Discuss the roles of national population commissions and Demographic Dividend observatories in monitoring implementation at the local and regional levels and in achieving project results.
* Define the modalities of technical support from UNFPA and CERPOD at all levels
Participants will work in plenary sessions and groups, exchange country experiences in advocacy and dialogue, and examine good practices in data collection and use in the area of ​​the demographic dividend that will be supported by the SWEDD project.
Specific objectives:
* Define the timeline for developing and implementing the communication strategy and the appropriate monitoring mechanisms at the local and regional levels
* Discuss the measures needed to support existing institutional mechanisms dealing with population issues in order to strengthen states' political commitment to the Demographic Dividend
* To exchange experiences regarding political engagement in the field
* Discuss the operational procedures of the demographic dividend observatories
* To exchange views on the ways in which networks of parliamentarians, religious leaders and NGOs can be involved in advocacy and political engagement in support of sustainable development
* Discuss the modalities of CERPOD support in terms of technical assistance and capacity building at the country and regional levels
results:
* Participants have a better understanding of component 3 and the implementation process of the regional behavior change communication strategy
* Participants understand the challenges and issues related to growth
* Participants have a good understanding of the importance of data in strengthening political engagement
* Participants adopted a roadmap and agreed on the measures needed to strengthen political commitment to the Demographic Dividend and the involvement of parliamentarians, religious leaders, and NGOs in this area
* A roadmap for the implementation of the regional communication strategy developed
* The role of the sustainable development observatories in the implementation of the project is defined
* The needs for strengthening the institutional capacities of national population commissions and the technical capacities of national staff identified

Methodology :
* Opening session and technical workshops
* Plenary sessions
* Group work by country
* Exchange of experiences between countries
* Facilitation and moderation (UNFPA BM Consultants)