Youth Unemployment and Poverty: Major Triggers of Conflicts in Africa

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Senior Advisor to the President of Ghana, Yaw Osafo Marfo has counseled African leaders to tackle youth unemployment and rising socio-economic inequalities as they are the main causes of conflicts in Africa.

According to him, the recent political disruption in some African countries, leading to the ousting of some Heads of States is a clear testimony of deep dissatisfaction among the people. He emphasized the need for African countries to focus on growing socio-economic challenges beleaguering the continent.

Yaw Osafo Marfo believes that it is important to equip the youth with employable skills by expanding training in entrepreneurial, technical, and vocational education in order to avert potential exposure to radicalism and extremist groups.

The Senior Presidential Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo, made this request in Accra, on Tuesday, at the opening of a Three-day Inter-Ministerial Africa Union-ECOWAS Consultative workshop on the implementation of Ghana’s Structural Vulnerability and Mitigation Strategy.

The workshop was attended by representatives from the ECOWAS Commission, African Union Secretariat, Research Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, the Ministry of National Security, Ministry of Finance, and other development partners.

Yaw Osafo Marfo stated that, ‘We need to fashion out strategies to nib the triggers of conflicts in the bud and strengthening resilience structures in the country for the wellbeing and prosperity of our citizens.’

Since Ghana is the first African country to present its Structural Vulnerability and Resilience Assessment (SVRA) report for peer review, it will serve as a touchstone for measuring other African countries.