As the country grapples with national budget deficits at the back of soaring public debt estimated to be K15 trillion, ActionAid Malawi has urged the youth to take a leading role in championing policy direction towards the attainment of Malawi 2063 Agenda.

Speaking on Tuesday in Lilongwe after making a presentation  on youth and leadership at the national youth summit, ActionAid Malawi Programme and Policy Lead, Wongani Mugaba, said key policy instruments and decisions such as national budget and public debt require meaningful participation of the youth for effective implementation.

“It is unfortunate that despite the fact that  50 percent of the country’s population is youth, they are on the receiving end of development programs.  This clearly shows that the youth are not involved in the actual implementation of such policies. There is a need for the youth to meaningfully participate in formulation, implementation, monitoring and  evaluation of the policies,” he said.

Mugaba called upon  the youth to utilise various platforms including digital spaces to initiate debates on how best the youth should benefit from various policies in the country.  He, however, called upon various youth organisations in the country to generate enough evidence for effective policy engagement with relevant duty bearers.

Reacting to the presentation, Kimmy Mwandira, a young person from Lilongwe, said the session has inspired her to mobilise fellow youth to start taking actions against actions that fuel poverty among the youth.

“Most of the youth believe change will only come from those entrusted to govern us. This is no longer the case.  It is high we realised that real change starts with the youth coming together to support the implementation of various policy programs. No young person should be left behind,” she said.

Officially opened on Monday by the Minister of Youth and Sports, the national youth summit is being held under the theme:  “Renewed Commitment to Youth Development Towards Malawi 2063.”