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PRIORITYMEASURE25
“Formulate policies to take advantage of the unique opportunityprovided by the demographic dividend and that include coordinated investments
in educationandhealth and the creation of decent work on the basis of intergenerational solidarity.”
Comments
The need to invest in education and health and to generate decent work is a central theme of chapter B of the Consensus, dealing with
“rights, needs, responsibilities and requirements of girls, boys, adolescents and youth”. Chapter B also mentions the great opportunity
offered by the demographic dividend: “
Considering that the 15-29 age group in the region now numbers some 160 million persons—in
otherwords, young people account for one quarter of the population— and that the demographic dividend offers a unique opportunity for
social investment in adolescence and youth, based on intergenerational solidarity, an investment which is essential for the three pillars of
sustainable development: social, economic and environmental.”
It suggests follow-up to PM 25 under three specific methods of chapter
B: PM 7, “
Guarantee for all boys, girls, adolescents and young people, without any form of discrimination, the chance to live a life free
from poverty and violence, and to enjoy protection and exercise of their human rights, a range of opportunities and access to health,
education and social protection
”; PM 9, “
Invest in youth, through specific public policies and differentiated access, especially through
the provision, without discrimination, of universal, free, public, secular, high-quality, intercultural education in order to ensure that this
stage of life is full and satisfactory, to enable them to develop as autonomous individuals with a sense of responsibility and solidarity and
with the ability to tackle creatively the challenges of the twenty-first century
”; andPM 10, “
Promote and invest in labour and employment
policies and special training programmes for youth to boost personal and collective capabilities and initiative and to enable them to
reconcile studies andwork activities, without precariousworking conditions andguaranteeing equal opportunities and treatment
.”
In addition, PM 25 is linked to PM 122 of chapter J: “
Also ask the United Nations Population Fund to strengthen cooperation activities
with theGovernments of the region in the framework of their commitment to strengthen investment in youth and, inparticular, to intensify
efforts to coordinate actions relating to access to quality education, including comprehensive sexuality education, gender equality, decent
work for youth and their access to quality health care, including sexual health and reproductive health services, in conjunctionwith other
cooperationagencies andother bodies in theUnitedNations system
.”
The creation of enabling conditions for reaping benefits from the demographic dividendmust include investing in education, health and
employment, in order to achieve empowerment and representation. In this regard, many of the SDGs promote the fruition of the
demographic dividend. SDG 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages) and SDG 4 (Ensure inclusive and
equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all) are the most directly related to this objective. SDG 10
(Reduce inequality within and among countries), SDG 11 (Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable)
and SDG 16 (Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective,
accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels) could also help towards this end.
