Campaigns

1.8 Billion: Young People For Change

Accessible Health Services

There are 1.8 billion adolescents and youth in the world today – the largest cohort in history. Many countries are lagging in prioritising tailored national policies and programs for this population group. To advance the agenda of adolescent well-being, PMNCH (Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health) is coordinating the multi-pronged 1.8 Billion: Young People for Change Campaign.

There’s untold power in adolescents and youth coming together to demand for a better future. Through innovative methods, including a digital chatbot and grassroots mobilisation in dozens of countries, the “What Young People Want” initiative aims to unite the voices of 1 million young people to bear on policy reforms and program delivery at all levels. All inputs received will be analysed and shared through a searchable online dashboard. Results will be used in the development of evidence-based messages – tailored by country/region/topic/age for highly targeted advocacy — for policy, financing and service improvements. ‘What Young People Want’ is an initiative aimed at gathering the perspectives, opinions, and aspirations of young people across the world. The goal of this campaign is to create a platform for young people to have their voices heard and to bring attention to the issues that matter most to them. With this information, we aim to create a better understanding of the needs and priorities of young people, which can inform policy and decision-making processes.

At a global level, the overall results from the What Young People Want effort will be packaged into an advocacy agenda for adolescents, to be launched at the Global Forum in October.

The Global Forum for Adolescents (GFA) in October 2023 will serve as a key moment to launch and amplify financial, policy and/or service delivery commitments to improve adolescents’ well-being. This includes multisectoral SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based) commitments by Governments, as well as commitments from non-state actors (civil society, private sector, health-care professional associations, global financing mechanisms, development partners and others) aligned with government-led planning and programming; and relevant to key gaps in advancing the adolescent well-being agenda at global, regional and national levels.

About TYPF’s role in the campaign:

The YP Foundation is a partner organisation of this global movement building and is  committed to prioritize adolescent well-being in at least 10 states of India namely: Punjab, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Kerala, Karnataka, Assam, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. 

TYPF is focussed on bringing together young people at the national and subnational levels with the aim to:

Enhance focus on adolescent well-being and advocate for it to be mainstreamed in national priorities as part of national multi-stakeholder platforms when applicable – as part of the 1.8 billion campaign and in the lead up to, during and post the Global Forum for Adolescents.
Facilitate digital inclusion and establish use of digital technology (for e.g., through chatbot technology and digital advocacy hubs) as the primary channel of capturing and analysing young people’s perspectives, ideas, challenges, needs, concerns and ambitions, alongside in-person engagement.
Contribute to and socialize a powerful ‘Agenda for Action for Adolescents’, to define programming for the GFA and consequently inform policy, programming and service delivery with country partners at the national level to achieve the SDG targets in 2030.

This will be done through:

Leveraging digital technologies as a key mechanism to achieve tangible results in regard to the GFA.
Supporting engagement on the Digital Advocacy Hubs (DAHs) as a key platform to plan for the Forum, as well as the capacity building of organisations, partners and other youth led organisations of chat bot technologies (eg. WhatsApp) to ensure the benefits of the GFA’s digital features trickle down to the regional/country level.

TYPF has reached over 50,000 responses so far! The key demands generated from the mobilisation activities are:

Accessible and affordable health services
Comprehensive sexuality education in schools
Equitable opportunities for employment
Quality education and financial support for higher education
Clean environment, drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene

Stay tuned for more updates from the on-ground mobilisation and events!

On 7th October 2023, youth leaders across the country engaged in a dialogue with the different stakeholders to understand and support the implementation of youth affirmative health and well-being services across government programs and schemes. This gathering was celebrated as ‘YOUVAANI’ where the youth leaders acting as leaders of change, employing effective adolescent-youth affirmative practices to engage with decision-makers and amplify the voices of adolescents and youth to bring about policy-level changes. Catch a glimpse of what the celebration looked like in the video below!

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