Service - Leadership in Government - Issue 77

S
youth
How Covid-19 is likely
to slow down a decade of
youth development in Africa
Until Covid-19 hit, the quality of life of youth (age 15-24) in Sub-Saharan Africa had been
steadily improving. According to the World Bank, by 2019 the youth literacy rate stood at 73%.
Gross secondary school enrolment rates increased from 13% in 1971 to 43% by 2018. Youth
unemployment rates have remained stable, at around 9%, even below the world average of 13.6%.
By Wim Naudé, Professor of Economics, University College Cork
Across Sub-Saharan Africa, extreme poverty among
young workers declined from 60% in 1999 to 42% in
2019. Moreover, the youth literacy gender parity index,
measuring the ratio of females to males aged 15-24 who
can both read and write, has improved significantly,
reaching 93% in 2019. And for the first time, the
unemployment rate of young women is similar to that
of young men (9.4%).
As an economist interested in entrepreneurship
and technological innovation, I recently contributed
to the UN’s 2020 World Youth Report. Chapter 4 of the
report concerns how the youth can leverage new digital
technologies for social entrepreneurship to advance
sustainable development. Though written before the
Covid-19 pandemic, the message may have become
even more urgent. This is because Covid-19 may slow
down or even reverse the positive trends in youth
development noted.
There are fears that the pandemic will result in
a lockdown generation, characterised by structurally
higher youth poverty and unemployment. Lockdowns,
by slowing down the spread of the disease, generate
benefits that “accrue disproportionately to older
households”. But, the costs of reduced economic activity
are disproportionately born by younger households.
They bear the “brunt of lower employment”.
Reinforcing inequalities
Younger people, especially young women, are more
intensively employed in sectors such as hospitality
and entertainment. About 80% of youth jobs in Sub-
Saharan Africa are in the informal sector. These sectors
– hospitality, entertainment and informal – have been
among the worst affected.
Lockdowns also interrupt schooling and education.
In one calculation, this could generate global future
“learning losses with a present value of
US$10-trillion”. The closure of schools will
reinforce social and economic inequalities
and exclusion.
Youth from more well-off households
may be less affected, for instance in having
access to private Internet and laptops.
While these impacts are troubling
everywhere, in Africa they are magnified
due to the high rate (21%) of youths who
were already not in employment, education
or training before the pandemic struck.
___ __
With the world’s
youngest population
at a time of
unprecedented
innovations in digital
technologies
WORL
YOUT
SOCIAL
ENTREPREN
AND THE
2030 AGEND
across the world, the
Youth entrepreneurship
With formal employment growth
sluggish at the best, countries are pinning
their hopes on entrepreneurship. But
entrepreneurship support policy remains
African continent has
a unique opportunity.
It has two key advantages:
digital savvy and a
willingness to take risks.
28 | Service magazine