Empowering youth leaders to advocate for nutrition

The health and nutrition of adolescents are becoming global priorities. There are over 1.2 billion adolescents aged 10-19 in the world and nearly a quarter of the people in Sub-Saharan Africa are aged 10 to 19. Different stages of the life cycle dictate differing nutrient needs. Due to the spurt of growth that occurs in adolescence, several nutrients are at greater deficiency risk, including iron and calcium. To develop to their optimal potential, it is vital that adolescents choose nutritionally sound diets. This may spell the difference between health and risk of disease in later years.

Adolescents themselves have the best understanding of young people’s needs, how to address them, and how to get them involved. Because of this, youth voices can be an incredibly powerful force for bringing about the changes they want to see. Through a participatory and collaborative process launched by the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Youth Leaders for Nutrition, supported by Save the Children and GAIN, an advocacy toolkit was created to engage adolescents and promote their voices.

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