COVID-19 and the Youth Question in Africa

The COVID-19 crisis has severely disrupted youth livelihoods, access to education, employment and participation in governance processes, decision-making and public life. It is envisaged that the long-term impact of the crisis will exacerbate their vulnerability and exclusion. At the same time, the COVID-19 crisis has the potential to promote youth agency by encouraging innovation, strengthening intergenerational dialogue and promoting social accountability. Against this background, this project seeks to generate evidence on how youth, despite the exclusionary practices, can be at the forefront of action and policy responses to mitigate and address the impact of the pandemic. The main research question that this study will answer is: How do we ensure that youth-led social accountability programming for COVID-19 is gender-responsive, inclusive and has meaningful participation so that the voices of the most marginalized have equal representation for transformed societies?