UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth to visit Ghana

The UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake will pay a working visit to Ghana on the 7 of February 2018 as part of her tour to five African countries. Her message is on the theme; Put Young People First. Ms. Jayathma will be advocating for Africa to implement the African Union Roadmap for Harnessing the Demographic Dividend as it is one of the key strategies to advance economic and social development.

She is expected to pay courtesy calls on the Minister of Youth and Sports and the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection. This will be to deliberate on strategies to employ in implementing the AU Roadmap for Harnessing the Demographic Dividend, and the strategic road-map of the President of the Republic of Ghana to increase Ghana’s potential of being one of the African countries to fully harness the demographic dividend. She is also expected to meet with a cross section of youth in the evening of Wednesday 7 February 2018 to interact and exchange ideas.

President Akufo Addo has outlined broad strategies to be implemented to guide the country’s efforts in realizing the demographic dividend. He termed this the “Strategic Roadmap for Harnessing Demographic Dividend in Ghana” when he launched it in December 2017. The president urged sector ministers to tap into this road-map by developing sector action plans to take full advantage of the possibilities presented by the demographic dividend. The President’s road-map is built on four main pillars namely economy, education, health and good governance with each pillar projecting five key actions to be taken.

 Ms. Jayathma will also pay a working visit to the Agbogbloshie market where she will interact with a group of female adolescent head porters (Kayayei). This is in response to the spirit of the Sustainable Development Goals tagline of leaving no one behind.

                                                                  Female adolescent head porters (Kayayei)

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has called for increased investment in the youth for economic development. This it says can be achieved through an all-inclusive approach. UNFPA believes that vulnerable groups including adolescent girls need special attention as Ghana stands to lose future leaders and innovators if any of these young people is left out due to current inequalities in national development.