Sweddknowlege plateforme 20 août, 2026

TDRs_ Side -Event_AU_Jan 2025

Concept Note
African Union Summit Side Event
Strengthening the human capital of young girls and women to capture the Demographic Dividend in Africa.
High Level Panel
African Union HQ, Addis-Abeba
Date: February 15 or 16, 2025

I.

Background and Justification
Africa's population increased by more than 5 times between 1960 and 2024, compared to 2.7 times for Asia as a whole and 3 times for Latin America. It exceeded one billion from 2009. In 2024, the African population now represents more than 18% of the world population compared to 9% in 1960, according to estimates from the World Population Prospects (UN, 2024). It could exceed more than 25% of the world population by 2050.
(World Population Prospects 2022, United Nations)
Data on the evolution of gross domestic product (GDP) and GDP per capita in the major regions of the world indicate lower performances for Sub-Saharan Africa. The limited African economic performance results from several factors: fluctuations in the price of raw materials, unsuitable economic policies, structural adjustment
programmes
, but also and above all from the strong demographic dynamic which has not yet been sufficiently exploited.
The growth of the African population results from a high fertility level of around 4 children per woman and annual growth of 2.3 per cent in 2024, resulting in a predominantly young population with a median age of around 19 years (World Population Prospects, UN 2024). This demographic profile

leads to pressures on social demand for access to education, health, other quality basic social services, decent employment for young people and a social protection system for the most vulnerable groups.

On the other hand, this situation offers the continent a unique opportunity to capture the demographic dividend
provided that
it takes up the challenge of strengthening the human capital of these young people through appropriate investments in the aforementioned sectors. It is also essential to address social and economic inequalities between men and women so that the potential of young men and women can be exploited, allowing them to benefit equitably from investment in youth. All in all, it is a question of developing and enhancing the human capital that the continent is full of. This is the whole meaning of
the African Union (AU) roadmap
on the theme “
Taking full advantage of the demographic dividend by investing in youth
” which
was adopted by African Heads of State and Government in 2017 in Addis Ababa and whose coordination of its implementation was entrusted to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
This is also the meaning of the call to action of the
Declaration of the Summit of African Heads of State and Government
(2023 in
Dar es Salaam
) which focused on the theme "
Accelerating Africa's economic growth: Boosting youth productivity by improving learning and skills
" and which recommends accelerating investments in human capital in a context of increased population growth.

An urgency: s
trengthening human capital by strengthening the empowerment of women and girls
The Empowerment of Girls and Women and the Demographic Dividend in
Sub Saharan Africa
better known by the acronym SWEDD
+
, financed by the World Bank contributes to realizing the AU roadmap by supporting countries opportunities to strengthen their human capital through intervention packages ranging from keeping girls in school, strengthening their life skills, their economic empowerment and their access to reproductive health services. These holistic and coordinated interventions have helped reduce early marriages and pregnancies, improve reproductive health with the use of family planning, a guarantee of reducing maternal mortality. A system for measuring and monitoring progress made in the operationalization of the project is made possible by the establishment of functional National Observatories of the Demographic Dividend (ONDD). UNFPA and ECA have worked together to equip these observatories with data and technical tools for human capital-sensitive policymaking needs and to scale up opportunities for mobilizing human and financial resources to support the implementation of the demographic dividend in many West and Central African countries.

In this perspective, the two institutions supported the countries to implement budgeting sensitive to the demographic dividend.
On the sidelines of the African Union Summit for the Future on 15-16
February
2025, the government of Mauritania, UNFPA West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO), the World Bank, ECA and the African Union will host a high-level panel that focused on the importance of human capital for inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Africa.
II. Objectives of the side event
The overall objective of this high-level side event is to recall the commitments of the African Union roadmap on the demographic dividend and the Dar Es Salaam recommendations on the necessary investments in Africa's human capital. Examples of good practices will be shared, such
as the SWEDD
+
, which responds to the ICPD action plan and the three transformative outcomes namely; zero maternal deaths, zero unmet needs and zero gender-based violence.
The expected outcome is the renewed commitment of Heads of State and Government for massive and sustainable investments in youth and the acceleration of the empowerment of women and girls who contribute greatly to the improvement of human capital and the capture of the demographic dividend in Africa.
III. Format
This will be a high-level event in person but with live streaming. A moderator will lead the panel. The duration of the event will be 1h30
mn
. The session will be conducted in French and English with simultaneous translation.
The event will include several segments: welcome and closing remarks, interventions by heads of state on progress and challenges, and discussion on the progress of the regional framework of the demographic dividend roadmap.
IV. Date and place
The high-level session will be held in the AU HQ, Addis Ababa, on February 15 or 16 2025.