This is according to a statement by the Regional Project for Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend in the Sahel (SWEDD) seen by APA on Tuesday.
The purpose of the workshop is to build the skills of a pool of national trainers on the program guide for dissemination to national structures involved in the development and implementation of development policies and programs.
More than 50 experts from SWEDD’s seven member countries, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad are taking part in the meeting jointly organized by the ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, of Economy and Finance, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Bank.
Recommendations on the role to be played by each pool of experts in their respective countries will be formulated at the end of the workshop, which is also being attended by representatives of the international development partners involved in the planning and implementation of the projects.
Since realizing the demographic dividend is not automatic, it requires the implementation of appropriate public policies and strategic investments in human capital, the UNFPA Regional Director for West Africa and Central Africa, Mabingue Ngom said in his opening remarks.
He explained that the programming guide makes concrete recommendations for policymakers who are developing a comprehensive national policy with the view to reaping the benefits of the demographic dividend.