High-Level event on realizing the demographic dividend in the Sahel

22 September 2014

UN HQ, New York

 
Join us on 22 September for an interactive high-level conversation on the demographic dividend in the Sahel region of Africa.
 
Your questions will be posed to the panellists. Submit your questions ahead of the meeting on Twitter using the hashtag #TheDividend. Watch the event livestreamed here and share your thoughts on Twitter and Facebook using #TheDividend.
 
On 22 September at UN Headquarters in New York, UNFPA and the World Bank Group are bringing together heads of state from the Sahel region of Africa, including the Presidents of Chad, Cote d’Ivoire and Niger, to discuss how the region can take advantage of a demographic dividend. UNFPA’s Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Vice-President of the World Bank Group Makhtar Diop, and Melinda Gates will also serve as panellists at the event, which will be moderated by journalist and television presenter Femi Oke.
 
Demographic dividend is a window of opportunity that opens when declining fertility rates lead to a large working-age population with fewer dependents to support. Because more people are contributing to the economy, it is a key opportunity for economic growth.
 
But the dividend is not automatic. It takes a healthy, educated and productive workforce that is gainfully employed. This means investing in sexual and reproductive health services, human rights, education, women’s empowerment, improvements in health and nutrition, and promoting quality employment.
 
In particular, it means investing in the health and rights and skills of young people who form the engine of future growth and development. This is especially true for adolescent girls, who remain marginalized in large numbers throughout the Sahel and the world.
 
This event brings together leaders from the region and world, and will bring in the ideas and concerns of young people around the world, to find solutions and forge partnerships and solidify commitments to fulfil the potential of the Sahel’s young people.

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