Development Officials Urge Concrete Action on Youth Employment Across West Africa

Development officials and United Nations representatives have called for concrete, coordinated action to expand youth employment, transform regional economies and equip young people with the skills and opportunities they need to drive sustainable development.

The call came during the opening session of the 29th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts for West Africa, convened by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Freetown under the theme, “Unlocking the Potential of Young People in West Africa: Pathways to Employment, Economic Transformation and Resilience.”

Delivering the keynote address on behalf of Sierra Leone’s Vice President, Minister of Planning and Economic Development Kenyeh Barlay urged participating countries to move beyond policy commitments and agree on practical measures with clear targets, timelines, assigned responsibilities and effective monitoring mechanisms.

She proposed an action-oriented Freetown Declaration on Youth Empowerment in West Africa to translate the session’s deliberations into measurable results. She also called on countries to share their experiences, listen to young people, establish concrete commitments and monitor progress.

“Young people are not asking for charity but for a fair opportunity to build, create and lead,” Barlay said, stressing that governments must place youth employment at the centre of their development strategies.

She highlighted Sierra Leone’s Medium-Term National Development Plan 2024–2030, which targets at least 500,000 jobs for young people by 2030 under the government’s Big Five Game Changers. She pointed to investments in education, technical and vocational training, agriculture and community infrastructure as important pathways to employment.

Through the Free Quality Education initiative, more than one million additional children entered the education system between 2019 and 2023, strengthening the foundation for future skills development. However, Barlay emphasised that education must connect more effectively with livelihoods and productive employment.

She cited the Feed Salone programme as a means of creating opportunities across agricultural value chains, including fisheries and fish farming. She also highlighted support from the National Commission for Social Action, which enabled about 15,000 young people to earn income and gain practical experience in 2024 through rehabilitation work on community schools, health centres, vocational centres and other public facilities.

Barlay acknowledged persistent barriers, including underemployment, informal work, skills gaps, limited access to finance, climate vulnerability and external economic shocks. She urged governments to protect investment in education and human capital despite competing demands on public resources. She also stressed the need to keep girls in school, strengthen laws against child marriage and expand young people’s participation in decision-making.

Development Secretary Ambrose James said West Africa’s youthful population could become a major driver of economic growth if governments addressed the structural barriers that prevent young people from securing decent and productive work.

He identified limited economic diversification, skills mismatches, widespread informal employment and inadequate access to finance and technology as major challenges. He called for greater investment in education, technical and vocational training, digital skills and health, alongside industrialisation, stronger regional value chains and opportunities created through the African Continental Free Trade Area.

James also emphasised digitalisation, inclusive employment policies for young women and girls and persons with disabilities, and more effective use of national resources. He noted that youth employment should form part of a broader economic strategy rather than remain solely a social policy concern.

ECA Subregional Office for West Africa Director Bouna Diop said the region could not realise its demographic dividend simply by having a large young population. Governments must invest in health, education, relevant skills, productive capacity and access to employment, finance and technology.

Diop cited estimates that informal employment accounted for 91.6 per cent of total employment in West Africa in 2025. She also highlighted the additional barriers young women face, including unequal access to finance and productive assets, as well as the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work.

She called for stronger links between training and labour-market needs, faster economic diversification, private-sector development and investment in digital and green transformation. She further urged governments to promote decent work and build resilience, particularly for young women and rural youth, while improving domestic resource mobilisation and the effectiveness of public spending.

United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone Seraphine Wakana said economic growth would not deliver inclusive development unless it generated sufficient productive jobs for the region’s growing youth population.

She called for structural economic transformation through industrialisation, diversification and higher productivity, rather than continued dependence on primary commodities. She identified opportunities in agribusiness, manufacturing, services, renewable energy and the digital economy, while warning that climate change, economic shocks, insecurity and displacement could undermine progress.

Wakana highlighted the Mano River Union Youth Connect Forum, held in Freetown in June 2026 and hosted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme. The forum brought together young leaders from Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire, demonstrating the importance of regional cooperation and youth participation.

She urged governments and development partners to treat young people as active partners in policymaking and implementation, not merely as beneficiaries of development programmes. She reaffirmed the United Nations’ commitment to supporting inclusive growth, decent jobs, human capital development and resilience.

Outgoing Chair of the 28th Session, Joseph M. Samah, reflected on the Committee’s work and thanked the Government of Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, and ECA for their support. He underscored the importance of sustained investment in skills, productive employment and entrepreneurship, alongside regional economic cooperation, implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area and domestic resource mobilisation.

Samah also highlighted the value of peer learning and evidence-based policy recommendations in helping countries address shared development challenges and strengthen regional integration.

Throughout the opening session, speakers stressed that West Africa’s youthful population presents a significant opportunity, but that opportunity will only translate into lasting economic and social gains through coordinated policies, effective investment and accountability for results.

The opening session has concluded, with delegates continuing deliberations on pathways to employment, economic transformation and resilience across West Africa. The proposed Freetown Declaration is expected to provide a framework for turning the discussions into concrete commitments to expand opportunities for the region’s young people.