Youth Leadership in Zimbabwe During the Pandemic

16 July 2020 Maarten van Bijnen & Natalie Roberts

With over 70% of the population in Zimbabwe being youth, their leadership is ever-important. But they have little say about a way forward, especially now during the pandemic. How can we change that?

Over 70% of the Zimbabwean population are youth. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government imposed lockdown saw the closure of the informal sector. With the majority of the youth in Zimbabwe employed here, and without savings, the daily struggle to feed their families intensified. Tensions in their densely populated living spaces grew. Extortionate prices of mobile data heightened the risk of contracting COVID-19 as access to information and guidance on social distancing could not be obtained. But how can civil society organisations help to reach these vulnerable populations? How can previously active youth peacebuilders continue their fundamental work?

Young peacebuilder Nqobile Moyo, the director of Voices In the Vision for Africa (VIVA), dialed into the Peace Corner podcast to lay his cards on the table. Tune in to hear how his personal journey and pledge to support the youth in the COVID-19 response is playing out in Zimbabwe.