By Duduzile Simelane

Copyright namibian

Talking notes by Duduzile Simelane, director of Social and Human Development at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat, at the SADC Multisectoral Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)–Youth for the Demographic Dividend Consultative Workshop, held from 1-3 October 2025 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Lusaka, Zambia.

Welcome to this important workshop, where we are set to deliberate on the available body of knowledge, lessons, and experiences, and identify key strategic priorities for programming and investing in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and youth towards harnessing the demographic dividend in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

This workshop builds on the outcomes of the consultative conference of SADC youth held in July 2025, during which young participants provided their input on this subject matter. These contributions will be presented to this meeting as the voices of the youth, forming an important building block for the deliberations over the next three days.

We have termed this meeting under the theme ‘Investing in Social and Human Development for Economic Growth, Well-being, Peace and Security in SADC’.

This is particularly important because the demographic dividend will not be earned if we do not intentionally invest in youth and SRHR. SADC considers it a priority – now more than ever – to invest in SRHR and young people, and there are a few, yet important, reasons for this:

(i) The region has a young population, with over three-quarters of its citizens below the age of 35 years. This presents an opportunity for investments in young people’s health, education, and jobs to break the cycle of poverty.

(ii) Africa has the highest rate of population growth globally, as well as the fastest-growing working-age population. With targeted investments in youth, this presents an immense opportunity to achieve accelerated economic growth and social development.

(iii) There is a high population of youth who are not in education, employment, or training (NEETs). This is where efforts should go – investing in human capital through education, skills development, and health is crucial for creating an educated and healthy workforce. At the same time, creating employment is essential to harness youth potential.

(iv) A growing number of SADC countries have begun to experience dramatic changes in their population age structures as they undergo demographic transition. Therefore, they have an opportunity to harness the demographic dividend. The SADC Statistics Dashboard 2022-2023 shows that key demographic indicators have generally changed in most SADC member states over the last several years. For example, the dependency ratio – a measure of the number of dependants to non-dependants – remains high, particularly among young people due to unemployment. This underscores the urgent need to create jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities to alleviate the burden of dependency.

Distinguished delegates, investing in young people allows countries to leverage the demographic dividend, turning the young population into an engine for economic growth and prosperity. Investment in youth is a key driver for sustainable development and provides opportunities and support for youth to foster their engagement and contribution to society, leading to more stable communities. Neglecting youth development can, however, lead to poor socio-economic outcomes.

Several SADC member states – including Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia – have conducted demographic dividend studies, developed demographic dividend roadmaps and profiles, and begun, at varying levels of progress, to implement policies to harness the demographic dividend. In addition, the United Nations, particularly UNFPA, has supported countries in developing case studies for youth investment in selected member states. These plans and policies now need to be financed, and we call upon development partners and governments to provide the necessary support.

At the regional level, SADC has prioritised social programmes that have the potential to impact the demographic dividend, particularly in areas such as health and well-being (including SRHR and HIV), gender, education and skills training, employment, labour and entrepreneurship, good governance, and youth development and empowerment, as well as those relating to economic development.

We have also developed key instruments that advance youth development, including the Draft SADC Youth Protocol, which awaits approval by the youth sector ministers, the SADC Declaration on Youth Development and Empowerment (2015), and, more recently, the SADC Youth Empowerment Policy Framework (2021-2030).

Distinguished delegates, we are fortunate to have among us experts who will present knowledge, global experiences, best practices, and potential pathways towards effective programming on SRHR and youth for the demographic dividend.

The SADC Secretariat remains committed to coordinating the efforts of all stakeholders, international cooperating partners, civil society organisations, and the private sector towards a new era of accelerated delivery of holistic, integrated, and comprehensive SRHR services, and investing in youth for the demographic dividend.

We look forward to collaboration and the process of co-creating and developing the multisectoral framework on SRHR and the demographic dividend.

As I conclude my remarks, I wish to express deep appreciation to our partners – UNFPA and the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development – for their continued collaboration as we jointly advance SRHR and youth development for the demographic dividend.

Talking notes by Duduzile Simelane, director of Social and Human Development at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat, at the SADC Multisectoral Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)–Youth for the Demographic Dividend Consultative Workshop, held from 1-3 October 2025 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Lusaka, Zambia.

Welcome to this important workshop, where we are set to deliberate on the available body of knowledge, lessons, and experiences, and identify key strategic priorities for programming and investing in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and youth towards harnessing the demographic dividend in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

This workshop builds on the outcomes of the consultative conference of SADC youth held in July 2025, during which young participants provided their input on this subject matter. These contributions will be presented to this meeting as the voices of the youth, forming an important building block for the deliberations over the next three days.

We have termed this meeting under the theme ‘Investing in Social and Human Development for Economic Growth, Well-being, Peace and Security in SADC’.

This is particularly important because the demographic dividend will not be earned if we do not intentionally invest in youth and SRHR. SADC considers it a priority – now more than ever – to invest in SRHR and young people, and there are a few, yet important, reasons for this:

(i) The region has a young population, with over three-quarters of its citizens below the age of 35 years. This presents an opportunity for investments in young people’s health, education, and jobs to break the cycle of poverty.

(ii) Africa has the highest rate of population growth globally, as well as the fastest-growing working-age population. With targeted investments in youth, this presents an immense opportunity to achieve accelerated economic growth and social development.

(iii) There is a high population of youth who are not in education, employment, or training (NEETs). This is where efforts should go – investing in human capital through education, skills development, and health is crucial for creating an educated and healthy workforce. At the same time, creating employment is essential to harness youth potential.

(iv) A growing number of SADC countries have begun to experience dramatic changes in their population age structures as they undergo demographic transition. Therefore, they have an opportunity to harness the demographic dividend. The SADC Statistics Dashboard 2022-2023 shows that key demographic indicators have generally changed in most SADC member states over the last several years. For example, the dependency ratio – a measure of the number of dependants to non-dependants – remains high, particularly among young people due to unemployment. This underscores the urgent need to create jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities to alleviate the burden of dependency.

Distinguished delegates, investing in young people allows countries to leverage the demographic dividend, turning the young population into an engine for economic growth and prosperity. Investment in youth is a key driver for sustainable development and provides opportunities and support for youth to foster their engagement and contribution to society, leading to more stable communities. Neglecting youth development can, however, lead to poor socio-economic outcomes.

Several SADC member states – including Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia – have conducted demographic dividend studies, developed demographic dividend roadmaps and profiles, and begun, at varying levels of progress, to implement policies to harness the demographic dividend. In addition, the United Nations, particularly UNFPA, has supported countries in developing case studies for youth investment in selected member states. These plans and policies now need to be financed, and we call upon development partners and governments to provide the necessary support.

At the regional level, SADC has prioritised social programmes that have the potential to impact the demographic dividend, particularly in areas such as health and well-being (including SRHR and HIV), gender, education and skills training, employment, labour and entrepreneurship, good governance, and youth development and empowerment, as well as those relating to economic development.

We have also developed key instruments that advance youth development, including the Draft SADC Youth Protocol, which awaits approval by the youth sector ministers, the SADC Declaration on Youth Development and Empowerment (2015), and, more recently, the SADC Youth Empowerment Policy Framework (2021-2030).

Distinguished delegates, we are fortunate to have among us experts who will present knowledge, global experiences, best practices, and potential pathways towards effective programming on SRHR and youth for the demographic dividend.

The SADC Secretariat remains committed to coordinating the efforts of all stakeholders, international cooperating partners, civil society organisations, and the private sector towards a new era of accelerated delivery of holistic, integrated, and comprehensive SRHR services, and investing in youth for the demographic dividend.

We look forward to collaboration and the process of co-creating and developing the multisectoral framework on SRHR and the demographic dividend.

As I conclude my remarks, I wish to express deep appreciation to our partners – UNFPA and the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development – for their continued collaboration as we jointly advance SRHR and youth development for the demographic dividend.