Research Briefs

The East African Community (EAC), is a regional intergovernmental partnership between six countries (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, and the United Republic of Tanzania), originally conceived in 1967 by three founder states (Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania), and formally established in 2000 by a treaty.

This research briefing note summarises a review of literature and policies on regional youth demographics and highlights implications from scenario modelling of the short-term, medium and long-term projections of the youth population in Kenya. Specifically, the briefing note highlights the demand for basic and social services against population projections.

Despite this high-level expression of commitment, policymakers still need to do more to integrate demographic dividend research into their country’s policymaking processes. Drawing on the experiences of expert engagements with policymakers in Uganda, Malawi, and Kenya this paper outlines how experts have effectively communicated demographic dividend research to government officials, who in turn, incorporated these results into policies.

The Network of African Parliamentary Committees of Health (NEAPACOH), previously known as the Southern and Eastern Africa Parliamentary Alliance of Committees on Health (SEAPACOH)) is one of the active networks engaging members of parliament (MPs) in Africa to strengthen the delivery of their functions of oversight, legislation and representation, in tackling health challenges in the region.

Tanzania’s demographic and economic profiles favourably position it to benefit from the demographic dividend if the country unleashes its full development potential by simultaneously prioritising: reforms and investments that accelerate fertility decline; industrialisation and job creation; investments in education and health to develop quality human capital; and improved governance and accountability in use of the country’s financial and natural resources.

Family Planning (FP) has immense health, environmental, and economic growth benefits. For instance, it is estimated that in 2008, family planning averted 32% of maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and that such deaths would decline by a further 29% if all women who want to avoid pregnancy use an effective contraceptive method (Ahmed et al. 2012). Family planning also helps save the lives of children; spacing births of children by at least two years would reduce deaths of infants by 10% and deaths of children aged 1-5 years by about 20% (Cleland et al. 2012).