It was a distinguished privilege to be received by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Hon. Shirley Botchwey, at Marlborough House in London, our first official meeting since her appointment as the first woman from Africa to hold this office, and a conversation grounded in a shared commitment to a Commonwealth that works for its youngest citizens as much as its oldest institutions.

More than 60% of the Commonwealth’s 2.7 billion people are under the age of 30, and the majority of its 56 member states are classified as low- and middle-income countries, 14 of them among the world’s Least Developed Countries. It was this demographic and economic reality, together with the urgent priorities of youth mental health and youth entrepreneurship, that shaped much of our discussion.

As Global Honorary Patron of Lifeline International, a civil society organisation accredited to the Commonwealth Foundation, and as Co-Chair of the Africa REACH Leadership Council advancing Africa’s HIV response and health systems in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, I was glad to bring both platforms directly into the room, work that sits close to the mandate of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa and the Wellbeing Africa Institute for Research and Development (WAIRD), and to my own conviction and advocacy that no young person’s wellbeing should depend on where in the Commonwealth they happen to be born.

I look forward to continuing this dialogue with the Office of the Secretary-General in the months ahead, as the Commonwealth prepares for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda this November, and to seeing these priorities placed firmly on that agenda.

 

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