sayosays

African Presidents convened in Addis Ababa from 28th January to discuss the continents economic progress. The African Union (AU) has chosen 2017 to be the year of the African youth and dedicated the theme for the summit “Harnessing the Demographic Dividends through Investments in Youth” to young people. Demographic dividend according to the United Nations Population Fund is the economic growth potential that can result from a change in a population’s age structure. This happens when the share of the working-age population (15 to 64) is larger than the non-working-age population (14 and younger, as well as 65 and older). The central importance of the demographic dividend to Africa’s transformative development has been repeatedly acknowledged by African leaders at the highest level and in key ministerial platforms. If Africa is to rise, then she has to invest in the youth of her member countries . Evidence from the last ten years has shown that a demographic dividend lens is a strate...

The environmental day celebrations missed out on one critical aspect – the involvement of and acknowledgment of the role women and girls pay in mitigating and adapting to climate change. Women and girls in most Kenyan homes carry the burden of unpaid care and domestic work which increase in changing climate. The role women play needs to be supported by strong policies as research has shown that people who are socially, economically, politically or institutionally marginalized are especially vulnerable to climate change. As the world heats up, oceans shrink, sea levels rise and animal species become extinct the world environment day serves as an important day to step back and reflect on what we are doing right and what areas we can improve on. A quick glance at current climate change policies indicates that Kenya, like many other African countries is yet to mainstream gender in her climate change policies. During the 2014 Conference of Parties (COP) countries adopted the Lima Work ...