Nigeria joined the rest of West Africa for the third edition of the National Transfer Accounts (NTA)-AFRICA Conference in Somone, Senegal, to discuss the way forward on demographic dividends and sustainable development for member nations of the regional trading bloc.

Themed, Demographic dividend, generational economy and sustainable development in Africa: Taking stock five years after the adoption of the African Union roadmap on the demographic dividend, the conference sought to address regional challenges and unity as well as seek to improve trade and relations between members.

Initiated by the Sub-Regional Office for West Africa of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA/SRO-WA) in partnership with the NTA Network-Africa via its Secretariat, the Regional Consortium for Research in Generational Economics (RCRGE), the Demographic Reference Bureau (DRB) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the conference also tried to create a framework to address population and sustainable development issues in Africa in the context of multiple crisis.

The meeting carried out an in-depth review of progress made in the implementation of AU 2017 roadmap on demographic dividend, identified synergies and linkages between the generational economy, AU 2017 roadmap on demographic dividend and Agenda 2030 with a specific focus on issues pertinent to Africa, assessed the current situation with regards to population dynamics and development in Africa and its sub-regions and provided a platform for sharing of experiences and stakeholders to brainstorm on mechanism to improve coordination and track national progress to harness demographic dividends in members’ respective countries.