Sub-Saharan Africa
Youth are, and will remain, a significant share of sub-Saharan Africa’s population for many years to come. The failure to provide opportunities for this large generation could have enormous economic, cultural, political and social consequences. Engaging youth fully in the region’s development is thus not a matter of choice, but rather an imperative. The report addresses the role of poverty in constraining youth development in the region.
Between 1983 and 1992, when most of today’s youth were born, the majority of sub-Saharan African countries suffered major social and economic setbacks. The measures taken to promote recovery, including structural adjustment and liberalization policies, resulted in major retrenchment and job losses and the withdrawal of State subsidies for social services. Many households experienced extreme difficulty in accessing basic goods and services, including those needed to support the education and health of their children, today’s generation of youth.
The percentage of youth who live in poverty continues to be extremely high in sub-Saharan Africa. It is estimated, for example, that over 90 per cent of Nigerian and Zambian youth (almost 40 million) live on less than US $2 per day. Non-monetary dimensions of poverty, such as nutritional deprivation, as well as the lack of electricity and access to water, also affect large segments of the region’s youth population. The importance of basic household facilities cannot be overemphasized. In the absence of water in the household, youth, especially girls, are often responsible for fetching water not only for their own households, but also for others. This detracts from self-development and involves risks of exploitation. Moreover, access to electricity is fundamental to benefiting from modern technologies such as computers, which not only facilitate communication but may also offer distance-learning opportunities for youth.
Compared with other areas of socio-economic development in sub-Saharan Africa, the greatest progress has been achieved in education. Net primary school enrolment increased from 57 per cent in 1999 to 70 per cent in 2005; however, on average, almost one in three children continue to be out of school. In comparison with other world regions, secondary school enrolment rates in sub-Saharan Africa also remain very low, with little change recorded in recent years. Similarly, young people’s prospects of remaining in tertiary education for a substantial period of time are remote in most African countries.
Many factors account for the inability of youth to complete education in Africa.
Foremost among these reasons is the cost of schooling, including non-tuition costs such as uniforms, books and transportation. The poor quality of the education system may also account for high repetition and low completion rates. In the mid-1990s, for example, more than 70 per cent of primary school teachers in Burkina Faso had no professional qualification. This has serious implications for the quality of education received by young people graduating from primary school.
For girls, low enrolment rates are due to persistent gender inequalities in access to schooling, especially at the tertiary level. Young women in Africa are therefore more likely to face a difficult transition into the workplace and into independent adulthood. This, in turn, contributes to their exclusion from decision-making, even about issues that affect their personal lives.
In recent years, there has been some improvement in access to education. Between 1991 and 2004, tertiary enrolment in the region nearly doubled, in part owing to increased investment and economic recovery in a number of countries. Nevertheless, one out of every 16 students from the region is pursuing tertiary education abroad because of the limited opportunities for quality education at home.
Young people’s inability to continue their education and their need to earn an income to a large extent accounts for the many young people seeking work. The formal labour market in Africa is still small, however, and remains inaccessible to youth who lack adequate skills, experience and strong social networks. Because of the limited vacancies in the job market, the number of unemployed youth in all of Africa grew by about 34 per cent between 1995 and 2005. As the fastest growing labour force in the world, youth in sub-Saharan Africa will be increasingly difficult to accommodate in the labour market in the future if appropriate employment policies are not instituted in the next few years.
Many young people are forced to undertake jobs that are characterized by poor conditions. In addition to the informal sector, agriculture has been a refuge for many young people. In 2005, youth accounted for 65 per cent of agricultural employment. This sector is characterized by low and precarious incomes and the development of little, if any, useful work experience for youth. Consequently, many young people experience poverty despite the fact that they are working. Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region that has seen a sharp and continuous increase in the total number of working-poor youth.
In addition to lacking quality education and decent work opportunities, young people in sub-Saharan Africa also face serious health problems. The number of new HIV/AIDS cases in Africa continues to grow and is rising faster than treatment services are being scaled up. Estimates suggest that young women’s HIV prevalence rates are twice as high as those for young men. HIV/AIDS has also had a major impact on other age groups, with repercussions for youth. For example, the high morbidity and mortality caused by the epidemic are also affecting the availability of teachers.
While HIV/AIDS has been devastating to Africa’s youth, there are other causes for concern. Some of the leading causes of death for those aged 15 to 29 years of age in the region are tuberculosis, malaria, unsafe abortion and road traffic accidents, as well as war and violence.
The region has experienced many armed conflicts over the past decade, which has had both direct and indirect consequences for youth. Youth have not only been among the victims of violence; they have also frequently been recruited into the militias and armies that have perpetrated violence. In a culture where youth often have no voice and no opportunities to develop, recruitment into militias has been easy, especially when it comes with the promise of some meagre remuneration or power. There have also been indirect consequences resulting from armed conflict, including the displacement of populations, the breakdown of health and social services and the heightened risk of disease transmission. In combination with poverty, such conflict has deepened the alienation of young people from society and has hampered their ability to participate fully in development, even after the cessation of hostilities.
In view of the demographic and socio-economic realities in the region, African Governments are increasingly putting in place national youth policies aimed at supporting the well-being of young people. However, much remains to be done to advance a comprehensive approach to youth development. Intergenerational partnerships need to be strengthened and programmes undertaken that address the full range of priorities contained in the World Programme of Action for Youth. In addition to benefiting from Government policies, youth in sub-Saharan Africa are also increasingly taking their development into their own hands; the recent African Youth Charter is a testament to their effort. They are more and more involved in voluntary activities that promote both the development of their own potential and that of their communities.
Sources: World Youth Report 2007 – Young People’s Transition to Adulthood: Challenges and Opportunities
