Young Africans demand greater say in their future: “We’re not asking for the impossible.”

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 28 October 2025 – Young people from all over Africa gathered in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa today demanding more say in their own future, greater investment in healthcare and education, and an end to violence and exploitation.

“We are more 300 million adolescents in Africa, but it feels like no one’s really listening to us,” said Loane Fénou Pathinvo, President of the National Association of Children’s Councils of Benin. “We are literally Africa’s future, but most of the time we’re treated as if we don’t exist.”

Speaking alongside more than 25 other young representatives of Children’s Councils, Youth Parliaments and civil society organisations from more than a dozen African countries, Pathinvo added: “Our message is simple: Africa depends on us. You depend on us. We’ve got the energy, the brains, the ideas and the desire to make things better. We don’t need your permission — but we  need your support.”

“We’re not asking the impossible. We just want the chance to grow up safe, healthy and strong,” added Monica Jackson, speaker of The Kids Parliament of Sierra Leone. “And we know it’s not only up to governments. Our families, friends, and communities need to have our backs too — to keep us safe, stop forcing us to get married when we are still young, ban FGM, stop beating us and forcing us to work to provide for our families.”

Welcoming participants to the 10th International Policy Conference on the African Child (IPC), Chairperson of the International Board of Trustees Elhadj As Sy said young Africans are affected by a complex web of factors which expose them to multiple negative wellbeing outcomes. “Adolescence in Africa is a time of great vulnerability,” he added. “Adolescents in Africa populate not just school yards and playgrounds, but farms, battlefields, mine shafts and toxic factories. You also find them heading households and in forced and early marital bondage.”

On almost every measure, Africa’s adolescents lag behind their peers around the world. A new report released by conference organisers the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) — Africa’s Adolescents: against all odds — shows that these young people are more likely to be hungry, malnourished, living in poverty, badly educated and suffer from poor mental health. They are four times more likely to die before the age of 21 and are more likely to be impacted by climate change, armed conflict and unemployment. 

The two-day conference also heard from Tapiwa Aisha Magureyi, from Zimbabwe — a member of the Graça Machel Trust Pan African Adolescent Girls Movement — who said: “African governments need to step up — not just make promises, but to act, That means stronger laws to protect us from rape, violence and online bullying, and proper mental and physical healthcare, including for our friends living with disabilities. We are fed up with saying what we need — we just need our leaders to listen, and to give it to us.”

“African adolescents have been largely invisible in laws, policies and programmes,” noted ACPF Executive Director Dr Joan Nyanyuki. “Adolescents have tended to fall through the cracks and there’s been a reluctance on the part of the establishment to listen to the stories, experiences and suggestions of young people.”

However, Dr Nyanyuki stressed that  today’s adolescents have the potential to drive an economic and social renaissance in Africa. “Adolescence is a stage of enormous potential, possibility and promise. The children and young campaigners addressing us here are inspiring examples of strength, courage, clarity and resilience. They give me hope for Africa. We must listen to them.”