Promoting African adolescents’ full potential through ‘accelerator interventions’ By 2050 Africa will be home to half a billion adolescents. Despite the incredible opportunity this young population presents, they also face multiple risks and challenges. Many will find themselves trapped in a cycle of poverty, unemployment, violence, low education and poor health. In order for our continent to achieve the SDGs and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, we need new approaches that support youth development and help young people realise their aspirations.
The UKRI GCRF Accelerating Achievement for Africa’s Adolescents Hub The UKRI GCRF Accelerating Achievement for Africa’s Adolescents Hub was launched in 2019 to contribute to the goal of transforming the potential of Africa’s adolescents into a thriving future for the continent. This five-year project is one of 12 being financially supported by UK Research and Innovation Council (UKRI) Global Research Hubs through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). The project’s aim is to determine which combination of ‘accelerator’ services or interventions – from across the health, education, social and economic sectors – can most efficiently help adolescents achieve their potential across multiple life domains and SDG targets. This would provide policy makers with valuable evidence to choose programmes that work and are cost-effective and scaleable. The project is led by an interdisciplinary team at Oxford University and the University of Cape Town, with research and government partners across Africa, as well as global partners – including UNDP, UNICEF and the WHO – NGOs and young people themselves. The University of the Western Cape (UWC), through the SOPH, is one of the Hub’s African research partners. Since January 2020, Prof Marisa Casale has been leading a work package within the Hub that focuses on scale-up, acceptability and cost-effectiveness of adolescent interventions in Africa. In June 2020, Dr Oluwaseyi (Seyi) Somefun joined the SOPH and Hub team as a post-doctoral researcher, and has been collaborating on the adolescent acceptability component of this work.
Progress and achievements to date In its first two years, the Hub has already exceeded its key 2024 objectives. In response to the urgent challenge of COVID-19, it is already reaching at least 38 million children and adolescents across the region (and a total of 164 million worldwide) with parenting support and cash transfers, these being the primary accelerators identified in research studies from seven African countries. The Hub has also built capacity among 30 African early-career researchers, and has produced over 40 publications, including in The Lancet and Nature journals. The work package led by Marisa, with its associated studies, has made significant headway towards its 2020/21 and longer-term goals, while adapting to the realities of COVID-19. Besides contributing to the broader Hub research and activities, she and Seyi have been directly involved in a number of specific activities and outputs. They contributed to a major UNICEF – Accelerate Hub COVID-19 report: ‘Beyond Masks: Societal impacts of COVID-19 and accelerated solutions for children and adolescents’. This was released on World Children’s Day in November 2020, at a UNICEF webinar attended by 600 participants. They have also published six commentary pieces on COVID-19 and youth in Africa, in outlets such as The Conversation Africa and Africa in Fact, to reach broader audiences beyond academia.
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