Africa’s youth agenda must include peace, security and development

This policy brief argues that Africa's youth agenda must transition from a focus on peace and security (YPS) to a more holistic approach integrating development (YPD). It highlights that underdevelopment is a primary driver of insecurity for the continent's youth, who face high unemployment and poverty. The document notes that current AU frameworks have failed to meet mid-way targets for 2024 and recommends integrating developmental indicators into the Continental Framework on YPS and leveraging the AfCFTA and Agenda 2063 to create jobs for the 100–120 million youth expected to enter the job market in the next decade.

• The current Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda is limited because it treats development as a secondary factor rather than a root cause of insecurity, focusing primarily on the role of youth in peace processes.
• Africa faces a significant youth demographic challenge, with a median age of 19.7 years and projections that young Africans will make up 42% of the global youth population by 2030. While 10–12 million youth enter the labour market annually, only 3 million jobs are created.
• Underdevelopment and poverty are direct drivers of conflict and recruitment into violent groups. In Nigeria, the rise of Boko Haram is partly attributed to poverty and lack of education, while in the Sahel, underdevelopment and climate change have increased competition for land and water.
• Implementation of the African Union's (AU) Continental Framework on YPS has fallen short of its 2024 targets. For example, only seven countries—The Gambia, Nigeria, Uganda, Seychelles, DRC, Kenya, Liberia, and Cameroon—had developed or started developing National Action Plans (NAPs) as of November 2023.
• There is a lack of coherence and varying interpretations of the YPS agenda across regional blocs. While SADC, COMESA, and UMA have focused more on development, ECCAS and ECOWAS have viewed the agenda through a security lens.
• Development-focused initiatives like the '1 Million by 2021' and the African Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment (APAYE) are often treated as ad hoc and receive less policy attention and resources than the YPS agenda.

APA

Mahdi, M., Ramaite, A., Willima, D., & Minde, N. (2025). Africa’s youth agenda must include peace, security and development. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1736945748016-PB-197.pdf

Chicago

Mahdi, Maram, Adivhaho Ramaite, David Willima, and Nicodemus Minde. Africa’s youth agenda must include peace, security and development. Institute for Security Studies, 2025. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1736945748016-PB-197.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mahdi |first1=Maram |last2=Ramaite |first2=Adivhaho |last3=Willima |first3=David |last4=Minde |first4=Nicodemus |title=Africa’s youth agenda must include peace, security and development |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=2025 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1736945748016-PB-197.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mahdi2025africas, author = {Mahdi, Maram and Ramaite, Adivhaho and Willima, David and Minde, Nicodemus}, title = {{Africa’s youth agenda must include peace, security and development}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2025}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1736945748016-PB-197.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }