Opening Remarks by Dr. Mohamed Sheikh, the Director General of the National Council for Population and Development during the Inaugural XSpace Live Chat on Thursday, 14. March 2024 on The Youth Agenda

Good evening, Good morning, Good day, wherever you may be joining us from and a hearty welcome to our XSpace – e-Idadi Live!. This is the National Council for Population and Development in Kenya.

We are very excited to have this very rare opportunity of engaging the youth on such a platform. We all acknowledge that young people are a great resource that can develop or destroy a country. NCPD hinges on quality of life for all Kenyans therefore interested in harnessing the youth potential for quality life. The youth agenda forms a core component of our work.

What is NCPD

The National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) is a semi-autonomous government agency under the National Treasury and Economic Planning premised on promoting quality population and human capital required to drive the country’s development agenda. In 2022, the NCPD celebrated 40 years of existence.

Our vision is to see a well managed population that can bring prosperity for our nation. And to actualize this vision, NCPD’s key mandate is to:

Advise government on population issues;
formulate population policies and coordinate the implementation of the national population programme;
conduct population research and analysis; carry out advocacy and educate the on population and development;
as well as strengthening our institutional capacity in order to deliver on the aforesaid mandate.

As a government entity we abide by government rules and regulations in promoting professionalism, integrity and inclusivity in delivering quality services to our customers. Using the government approach of delivering as one, NCPD, by the very cross-cutting nature of our work, partners with various state and non-state actors including youth serving and youth-led and religious organizations.

How does NCPD promote quality population?

Allow me to just highlight the key actions we have taken to promote quality of life for all Kenyans.

Foremost:

NCPD is the government advisor on population issues that need attention and those that are emerging. We do this annually through advisory papers as well as development of the State of Kenya Population reports.
NCPD develops population policies that guide the implementation of the population programme. At the moment, we are preparing to launch and disseminate the Sessional Paper No.1 of 2023 which is the current population policy.
NCPD participates in and advocates for development of policies and programmes that support the wellbeing of the population. Quick examples are NCPD’s advocacy work that led to the repositioning of the Family Planning Programme after fertility stall at 4.7 births and unmet need at 25% between 1997 and 2008.
NCPD has remained in the fore in advocating for increased domestic financing for the FP programme.
Second, NCPD ‘s efforts in youth issues and promotion of youth wellbeing and life skills in the Adolescent Reproductive Health Development Policy followed by What’s New and Cool for the Youth, led to the development of a youth policy of 2019.
Third, after the release of the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey of 2014, NCPD highlighted the alarming situation of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, especially the high maternal deaths in the country. This led to the development of a national programme on Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH).
NCPD conducted a national survey on adolescents and youth in Kenya in 2015 which led to increased advocacy for investments in key sectors to create momentum for a demographic dividend (accelerating social and economic growth). From this, we developed a roadmap and a national plan of action for the Demographic Dividend. The outcome of this is that Kenya was recognized by the African Union for taking that proactive step and the roadmap was shared with other member countries for domestication.
Further, during the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, NCPD and various partners fronted for inclusion of the youth agenda. This culminated in getting the youth voice in the 17 Kenya Country Commitments that NCPD is mandated to track and report on an annual basis.
NCPD is a leader in public education. Despite meagre resources, we have leveraged on partner support to engage policy makers, religious leaders, population programme implementers, development partners, various stakeholders including youth on population and development. We use public forums, our choir, media engagements, conferences, shows and exhibitions, our newsletter and social media to reach our publics.
Finally, NCPD took a leadership role in Population Health and Environment programming to support climate adaptation and resilience.

I look forward to very fruitful discussions

Thank you