Successful Youth Policy: Lessons from the African Peer Review Mechanism

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the state of youth policy in Africa, drawing on African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Country Review Reports. It argues that while youth policies are becoming more common, they are often hindered by poor design, inadequate data, and weak state implementation capacity. The author emphasizes the need for evidence-based strategies and partnerships with non-state actors to effectively integrate young people into developmental agendas.

• The adoption of youth policies in Africa lags behind global trends. In 2014, only 43% of the 54 African countries surveyed (23 countries) had a full or draft youth policy, while 14 had none at all.
• A critical barrier to effective youth policy in Africa is the lack of high-quality data and systemic information, which undermines poverty eradication and employment interventions.
• Policy design is often compromised by overly broad definitions of youth and a lack of strategic coherence. The African Youth Charter defines youth as those aged 15 to 35, a range the author suggests may be too wide to cover with a single policy.
• State capacity constraints, including financial and skills shortages, often render well-designed policies ineffective. Implementation is further undermined by corruption, patronage networks, and political influence.
• Some African countries have successfully created mechanisms for youth participation in governance, such as the National Youth Forum in Burkina Faso, reserved legislative seats in Rwanda and Uganda, and the National Youth Council in Mozambique.
• The effectiveness of youth institutions can be compromised by party-political influence. For example, South Africa’s National Youth Development Agency has faced criticism regarding its relationship with the ruling party’s youth league.

APA

Corrigan, T. (2016). Successful Youth Policy: Lessons from the African Peer Review Mechanism. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Policy-Briefing-149.pdf

Chicago

Corrigan, Terence. Successful Youth Policy: Lessons from the African Peer Review Mechanism. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2016. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Policy-Briefing-149.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Corrigan |first1=Terence |title=Successful Youth Policy: Lessons from the African Peer Review Mechanism |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=May 2016 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Policy-Briefing-149.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{corrigan2016successful, author = {Corrigan, Terence}, title = {{Successful Youth Policy: Lessons from the African Peer Review Mechanism}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2016}, month = may, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Policy-Briefing-149.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }