Africa’s 200m youth population predicted to double by 2045

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 Africa’s youth population, those between the age of 15 and 24 which is currently put at about 200 million, has been predicted to double by the year 2045.

NaijaAgroNet reports that the African Development Bank (ADB) is therefore working on providing the youth with the skills, education and jobs they need to secure their future.

This was coming as part of effort to mark this year’s International Youth Day, August 12, even as the AfDB celebrates and recognizes the importance of African youth.

The former President, ADB, Dr. Donald Kaberuka recently said, "Population growth in regions such as the Sahel remains very high, as high as 3.9 per cent, while internal migration has accelerated with up to 40 per cent of people now living in unplanned, poorly equipped cities and towns, amidst squalor and unemployment. As a result, young people - around 15 million of who enter the labour market each year - cannot find jobs, either because few are available, or because their skills do not match the needs."

"And in some regions, as they cannot find jobs or see hope for the future, they become easy victims to terrorist groups, or human traffickers promising them imaginary El Dorados, only for them to perish in the Mediterranean," Kaberuka added.

A proposed project, ENABLE Youth (Empowering Novel Agri-Business-Led Employment for Youth in African Agriculture), is another initiative through which the AfDB seeks to reach out to close to 800,000 youth in 20 countries in southern, eastern and western Africa regions. The programme will be designed to appeal to disenfranchised young African adults through a comprehensive outreach approach that will see them receive life-skills education (effective and functional job training) and information on proven technologies and opportunities.

The programme will also come with 20,000 internships, 10,000 agribusiness startups, and 30,000 new jobs in rural and urban areas, leading to incomes of at least US $450 about N96, 750 per month.

In addition to supporting agriculture, the Bank is offering assistance to initiatives aimed at improving the education sector to provide skills required in the labour market. The AfDB and its development partners also recognize the role of the informal sector in providing jobs and livelihoods for the most vulnerable populations, including youth.

Cyriacus Nnaji/ED,OPs

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 Pix: Dr. Donald Kaberuka