Population, Development: Making youth more resourceful!

The 2014 World Population Report outlines ways through which the 1.8 billion people could be groomed for nation-building.

According to the 2014 World Population Report launched in Yaounde on Friday November 28, youth account for 1.8 billion world population today and could greatly contribute to shaping the socio-economic image of their respective countries if well groomed.

The report notes that with the right policies and investments in human capital, countries can empower young people to drive socio-economic development and boost per-capita income.

Speaking during the official launching ceremony, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) , Dr Barbara Sow, said countries that meet the need of the youth now are likely to be in a better position by the second half of the century with more educated and healthy populations, more productive workforces, growing economies and falling fertility rates.

She said “Youth can be a transformative force if well directed and consistent investments on them done on time. Successive speakers said youth in Cameroon make up two thirds of the county’s population and so there is need to draw up development programmes and projects capable of emancipating them so that they can maximize their full potentials and serve as assets to development. The absence of these they said, would turn them into liabilities to the State.

They added that millions of youth do not go to school, or even if they do, they do miss even minimum benchmarks for learning. Employment prospects are often dismal, with jobs unavailable or poor in quality, leading to a worsening global youth unemployment crisis.

According to the Minister Delegate in the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Yaouba Abdoulaye, who chaired the Yaounde ceremony, the report serves as a guide for decision-makers to know what programmes and projects to embrace so as to bequeath a better tomorrow for today’s youth.