Investing in Ukraine’s youth is key to post-war recovery

Why is investing in Ukraine’s youth important, and how can it be done effectively and efficiently? To answer this question, Genesis was contracted by UNICEF to develop an investment case to inform the scale-up of youth services and ensure adequate resources, quality interventions and effective partnerships.

The investment case serves as a roadmap for empowering Ukraine’s youth, a demographic that holds significant potential for the country’s future. Investing in young people is necessary to ensure the realisation of their rights, and to support their engagement in the long-term recovery of Ukraine. Read the full report A Brighter Future: An investment case for youth in Ukraine.

The ongoing conflict has dramatically impacted the outcomes for Ukraine’s youth: 40% of 14 to 35-year-olds have fled the country, and the remaining youth face more limited opportunities for education and employment. Young people’s mental health, social protection, and protection from violence have also been affected. This puts at risk the possibility that their rights will not be realised. It also threatens the potential of their generation to support the future development and well-being of the country, and spearhead the recovery efforts that Ukraine will need to undergo in the coming years. Thus, it is a priority to ensure that adequate services are put in place to support young people’s development.

The study did this by providing a concrete evidence base that demonstrated why investing in Ukraine’s youth is so important, and how to do it effectively and efficiently. The study firmly established that spending on a wide range of youth-related programmes is a good investment. This report provided a robust cost-benefit analysis to underscore the imperative of investing in youth. It identified high-return interventions, explored financing possibilities, and culminated in policy recommendations for the Government of Ukraine and its partners.

Detailed analyses within the report covered the overarching rationale for investing in youth, the selection and scaling up of programmes, comprehensive cost and benefit assessments, and tailored financing strategies. The ultimate goal was to inform and guide stakeholders, especially the Ukrainian Government and its development partners, to increase and efficiently allocate resources towards youth programmes during the critical recovery phase.