As the developed world reels from an economic downturn that has recession written all over it, African youth face challenges of their own.Many have lost their jobs, as a result of the shrinking labor force in Africa's job market. Millions are finding it hard to find work-something that their education has not prepared them to encounter. Statistics from the world bank and other international institutions show that Africa has the fastest-growing and most youthful population in the world. They show that more than 20 percent of Africa's population is between the ages of 15 to 24 and, since over 40 percent of Africa's population is under 15 years of age, that number will continue to grow exponentially. Another interesting statistic from the International Labour Office shows that African youth make up more than 30 percent of the total working-age population yet three in five of Africa's jobless people don't have a job.

Many analysts are wary of such a situation. Indeed the consequences of an unemployed work force of such a size are many. Eric Zuehlke of the population reference bureau says that youth unemployment 'is a potential trigger for social instability'. We have seen riots in Europe and other parts of the world from youth who feel that their governments have not been responsive to their employment needs.

But beyond the economic costs related to high rates of youth unemployment, Zuehlke says that there are clear political and social ramifications. These include engaging in criminal activities,armed conflicts and other illegal activities. Jorge Saba Arbache of the Office of the Chief Economist, Africa Region at the World Bank says that "Youth unemployed and underemployed are more exposed to economic cycles," making them vulnerable to job instability. It is however important to note the differences in the description of youth in Africa. A recent world Bank report says that African youth are not a homogeneous
group and their employment prospects vary according to region, gender, age, educational level, ethnicity, and health status. The report says that these different groups require different sets of government policy interventions. The typical African youth, as given by medians, is easily identifiable: she is an 18.5-year-old female: living in a rural area, and literate but not attending school.

In a recent meeting at the World Bank, experts on youth unemployment--ironically non of whom would fall under the category of youth--recognized the impact of the economic crisis on the job market. Professor William Ahadzie of the Centre for Social Policy Studies at the University of Ghana said that his country had developed a National Youth Employment Program to "actively engage youth in productive employment where they are needed" some of the jobs he mentioned where; health extension, waste and sanitation workers, teachers, and as paid interns in industry.
In Nigeria,one of the richest countries on the continent--given its massive oil reserves--youth unemployment is 60 to 70 percent,with the labor market only absorbing 10 percent.

Is training the panacea?

The World Bank report recognizes that in most African countries, the responses to youth unemployment have focused on programs that are 'narrow in scope, limited in time, and biased toward urban areas' It calls for the integration of two key elements: a strategy for growth and job-creation in both rural and urban areas, as well as targeted solutions to help young people overcome the specific barriers they face in entering and remaining in the labor market. In my opinion,most governments have not encouraged youth entrepreneurial spirit. Thus many rush out of school to seek employment in the public service. The potential of entrepreneurship but it has not been exploited. Experts seem to conclude that even though training is a key,it is not the magic panacea.

Reports show that women are at a higher risk than men of contracting and dying of tuberculosis. According to the International Union against TB and Lung disease, TB kills more women than all other causes of maternal mortality combined. Over 900 million women are infected with TB worldwide.

The World Health Organization (WHO) 2009 Global TB Control Report released last week at the 3rd Stop TB Partners' Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil shows that in 2007, there were 1.37 million estimated new TB cases among HIV-infected people and 456,000 deaths worldwide.

Dr. Pauline Muchina of Kenya is an activist on women’s health issues. She worries that such figures do not show the full effect of the disease on African women. Muchina says thousands of women who are the primary caretakers of AIDS patients are at the risk of contracting tuberculosis. “In the HIV epidemic era,” she says, “women and girls are bearing the blunt of care giving for families living with people with HIV/AIDS.”

Most of the women in sub-Saharan countries have had no training on how to handle people with TB. They are at risk of contracting the disease themselves and passing it on to their family members.

The new report from the UN says women are likely to wait longer than men before they seek medical attention because of many factors, including the social stigma attached to TB.

The report says, “While men usually worry about loss of wages and capacity for work, women worry about social rejection – from husbands, in-laws and the community in general.” Muchina adds that in addition to the stigma, women are victims of violence: “We have seen cases of women who have been beaten by their husbands because they have declared their status to them.

"Women are often the primary caretakers of their families and they can’t afford to divert the small family resources for their own medical care. “Because of their care giving nature, they want to take care of their families first...” Muchina says.

She encourages women to seek medical treatment as early as possible because the livelihood of the family depends on it. She says “Health is paramount if they are to continue providing care to their families.”

"Africa is beyond bemoaning the past for its problems. The task of undoing that past is on the shoulders of African leaders themselves, with the support of those willing to join in a continental renewal. We have a new generation of leaders who know that Africa must take responsibility for its own destiny, that Africa will uplift itself only by its own efforts in partnership with those who wish her well." .......Nelson Mandela


This week on Upfront we looked at the issue of leadership on the continent. Many analysts have opined that the source of Africa's problems lie in its leadership. For a continent to be so rich in natural resources,the only explanation for the high levels of poverty lies in a leadership that has failed its people. On the show there seemed to be an agreement that poor leadership resulted a failure to create a shared vision in which Africa is moving in a trajectory that puts us at the same developmental levels as our global partners. Forty years ago,most Asian economies were at the same level as African countries like Uganda. Today,many of these Asian countries are giving aid to Africa. How can our leaders account for such a developmental gap.

The africanprogress says that While the international community can provide much needed assistance, it is unrealistic to count on it to free African countries from bad leaderships and poor governance, given the hard realities of global geopolitics and economics. Whatever the underlying causes of slow progress in Africa may be, Africans themselves have to take responsibility for their own progress. In this regard, the development of indigenous capacity and homegrown policies informed by local knowledge and perspectives provides the best hope for poverty alleviation in poor countries.

The onus therefore falls squarely on Africans to proactively take charge of fostering good governance and the evolution of visionary and transformational leaderships in their countries. The financial, intellectual, and other resources of accomplished Africans, especially those outside the continent ("Brain Drain", "Overseas" or "Diaspora" Africans), are yet to be fully tapped and effectively utilized toward fostering African progress, particularly leadership/governance capacity building with a strong private sector orientation. And, in most countries, much of the exceptional young leadership talent is wasting away due to under-investment in human capital development.

Therefore, rather than feeling helpless and hopeless and continuing to complain about poor leaderships and the international community, accomplished Africans must seek innovative ways to effectively harness and leverage their immense but largely untapped and under-utilized resources to implement leadership/governance capacity building initiatives in their countries. Such resource-pooling need not be financial--with the numerous options and possibilities provided by the Internet and advanced information and communications technologies, Overseas/Diaspora Africans can contribute substantial intellectual and other nonfinancial resources, even without being physically present in their countries.

This week crowds gathered in somber reflection near the Rwandan capital of Kigali to mark the 15th anniversary of the start of a 100-day genocidal massacre in Rwanda in which an estimated 800,000 people were brutally killed.
President Obama released a statement saying "As we mourn their senseless passing, we must also acknowledge the courageous men and women who survived the genocide and have since demonstrated remarkable strength and generosity in forgiving those who committed these heinous acts,"

On Upfront we looked closely at the concept of genocide. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group. In modern history,two genocides have caught the attention of the world,the third on many accounts is still taking place under the watchful eyes of the UN. This week,15 Years after the world watched as Rwandan Tutsi were massacred, we are relatively passive to the cries of people in Darfur. The question we put to our listeners on the continent was; what are some of the conditions that lead togenocide,what is your role in preventing genocide?

In Rwanda,this period is particularly harder on the survivors of the genocide. I spoke to many of them including Immaculate Ilibagiza http://www.immaculee.com/. She tells a moving story of her survival; she and seven other women spent 91 days huddled in fear in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor's house. She lost all her family. To them the legacy of genocide leaves on "and will never be forgotten"

To them and many others,the worst betrayal is the ongoing campaign by some people to negate the Rwandan genocide. "These people are attempting to rewrite history" Yvette,one of the survivors says. Mimi was only six when the killings started. She watched as her family was massacred and barely survived. She like many others "have tried to move on with life". But they also hold on to the memory of their loved ones. It is their resilience that we admire.

The much awaited G20 summit has come to an end. The leaders attempted to bridge policy and financial philosophy differences. President Obama says that they agreed to a number of new fiscal and regulatory steps, in a desperate effort to revive the paralyzed global economy.

Economy aside,on the show we looked at the social pressures experienced by young people-usually after college to rush into marriage. The pressure of time that you feel is a cultural expectation that is often times not realistic. Family also plays a part in exerting such pressure.
This goes right along with social pressure, but often times family gives more pressure than anyone else. Some of you are tired of going home or to family functions and being asked if you are seriously dating anyone. Other people’s preconceived time table for your life should not dictate you pushing forward with anything.

The Ivory Coast stadium tragedy-Does anyone else find it disturbing that the football match went right ahead, even after people died and others injured?

I put the above question to our listeners after the stadium tragedy in Ivory Coast.
Reports says that the Ivorian government opened an investigation into the stampede that killed 19 people and left 132 injured before a World Cup qualifying match between Ivory Coast and Malawi Sunday in Abidjan.

The fans had overwhelmed security, and in the ensuing panic, police fired tear gas into the crowd. This is the second deadly stampede to disrupt the 2010 qualifiers in Africa.

In June, eight people died in Monrovia as spectators scrambled to get into an overcrowded stadium for a match between Liberia and The Gambia.

FIFA had already expressed concerned about the safety of soccer facilities across the continent and threatened that countries without adequate arenas would forfeit home advantage during preliminary matches for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

What struck me as odd was that the match continued despite the deaths and injury of that many fans.

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