The message is clear. 

We must put young people first if we are to harness the demographic dividend, build resilience and transform our region to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the Africa We Want.

Having helped secure political will in 2016, UNFPA in WCAR intends to secure resources, advance partnerships and fully promote, support and implement interventions that put young people first in 2017 and the years ahead. 

We will continue to advocate for all those young men and women whose social and economic rights are denied, and wherever we see successes, we will work to replicate them. 

We intend to deliver a region where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and the potential of every young person is fulfilled.