In ‘Malawi President commits to championing youth development and the demographic dividend in Malawi and across Africa’ President of the Republic of Malawi, H.E. Prof Arthur Peter Mutharika, has pledged to mobilise other African leaders and the African Union to prioritise investments that will help African countries harness the demographic dividend (DD). In ‘Using training as one approach for building capacity of health policymakers in evidence-informed policymaking: Experiences from Kenya and Malawi’ the use of research evidence in decision-making by policymakers in the health sector is critical for enabling the formulation and implementation of the most effective policies and programmes. In ‘Addressing the vulnerability of cross-border communities to HIV/AIDS critical for development in the East African Region’ close to 4.7 million people in the East African region (EAC) are living with HIV as at 2014. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania each contributes nearly a third of the burden of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) in the East African region. In ‘Malawi launches health strategy for the youth’ young people suffer higher disease burden than other population groups, leading to high maternal, infant and child deaths. In ‘Malawi’s youth identify education as critical for transition into adulthood’ youth in Malawi have asked the government to put in place policies and investments that will ensure increased school enrollments, improved access to higher education and technical colleges, and increased employment opportunities. The newsletter then concludes with the article on ‘Hewlett Foundation funds AFIDEP’s new programme to increase evidence use in integrated development planning and parliamentary processes in Africa.’
