Impact the Shape of Things to Come: Invest in Women and Youth

PAI’s recent study, The Shape of Things to Come: Why Age Structure Matters to a Safer, More Equitable World, was a hot topic in Washington last week when it drew a panel of experts to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The experts, including a Member of Congress and the heads of the Henry Stimson Center and the Population Reference Bureau, agreed: Demography can often be a powerful indicator for international development.

The Shape of Things to Come offers compelling evidence that a country’s age structure—the size of specific age groups relative to the population as a whole—has a significant impact on its stability, governance and economic development.  While young people are a tremendous asset for any society, countries with very young or youthful age structures have historically faced the greatest challenges in terms of development and stability.  Currently about sixty countries have a “very young” age structure, including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Haiti, and nearly all of sub-Saharan Africa.  The findings of PAI’s report reaffirm that investments in education, health care and economic opportunities for young people in these countries is critical to these nations’ development.

Congressman Russ Carnahan (D-MO), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who spoke at the Wilson Center event, described The Shape of Things to Come as a valuable resource for policymakers because it provides compelling information on how age structure and population dynamics affect development.  Congressman Carnahan urged other policymakers to use the findings of PAI’s study to highlight approaches through which developing countries with very young age structures can meet the challenges they face and help their citizens live longer and healthier lives.

Today, a critical opportunity to make a difference in the lives of millions of women and young people around the world exists in the annual foreign assistance (State-Foreign Operations Appropriations) bill pending before Congress and President Bush.  As passed by Congress, this bill overturns the Global Gag Rule and expands access to contraceptives in poor nations.  Such a policy shift would greatly benefit the hundreds of millions of women in developing countries who lack access to contraceptives and other basic reproductive health care. Unfortunately, President Bush has threatened to veto the entire foreign assistance bill over the life-saving, anti-Global Gag Rule provisions

As The Shape of Things to Come makes clear, age structure matters to development. And the good news is that demography is not destiny. More balanced age structures can be achieved through popular and effective policies backed by sufficient funding and political commitment. Most importantly, these investments in the health, education and well-being of women and young people are time-tested, cost-effective, and grounded in human rights—and they can truly impact the shape of things to come around the world.

Population Action International (PAI) works to improve individual well-being and preserve global resources by mobilizing political and financial support for population, family planning and reproductive health policies and programs.