African governments have had to deal with the critical issues of disrupted education systems, reduced access to essential goods and services, increased poverty, food insecurity, and exposure to violence, abuse, and exploitation. At the same time, they have had to deal with vaccine access, uptake, and distribution in the context of weaknesses in health systems exposed by the pandemic. But there have been growing concerns about authoritarianism and the mismanagement of COVID-19 resources meant for interventions in health, education, and infrastructural development. There is significant consensus that corruption, represented in the lack of transparency and accountability during the pandemic, has affected inclusive and sustainable recovery for youth and other marginalised groups.

Meanwhile, young people, constituting about 65% of Africa’s population, have exhibited a high appetite for leading the way in continental pandemic recovery efforts. Many young people have exemplified themselves as active agents in the fight against COVID-19 by volunteering as frontliners in essential services, while others came up with innovations to meet the emerging demands for essential products.

The challenge for all is to embolden young people to escalate their contributions to the African recovery agenda by spearheading a network of local catalytic solutions, supported by regional advocacy and policy influencing.