Whether we are growing up in Jamaica, South Africa, Indonesia or Jordan, we share many of the same hopes for the future. This International Youth Day, we are reminded that young people everywhere want to be healthy, safe, heard and supported to reach our full potential.
What shapes our ability to achieve those aspirations, however, can look very different from one community to another. The health challenges we face are often influenced by where we live, the resources available to us and the social, economic and environmental conditions around us. For some of us, this may mean barriers to healthcare or nutritious food. For others, it may mean the impact of preventable diseases, misinformation, environmental risks or limited opportunities to have our voices heard.
Across these different realities, young people are speaking up, organising in our communities and using our voices to push for change. Our lived experiences offer valuable insight into what is working, what is not, and what needs to change to create healthier communities for children and young people.
That shared commitment is what brings us together as members of UNICEF’s Global Youth Health Advisory Group. Made up of 15 young people from different countries and contexts, the group helps ensure that youth perspectives have a meaningful place in shaping campaigns and initiatives that promote health and wellbeing.
Creating healthier futures means creating space for young people to do more than share their experiences. It means listening to our ideas, valuing our expertise and working alongside us to turn shared aspirations into action.
Hear Our Stories
As members of the Global Youth Health Advisory Group, we each bring a different story shaped by the communities we call home. While our experiences and priorities may differ, we are united by a shared belief that young people have an important role to play in advancing health and well-being. In the stories that follow, some of us share what inspired our advocacy, the changes we are working towards and our hopes for a healthier future.
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As I got older, I started looking around Jamaica and noticing the gaps in our health and food systems, from the growing mental health struggles among young people to the rising burden of NCDs and the inequalities that shape who gets to live a healthy life. I realized I couldn't just see these challenges and stay quiet, so I chose to use my voice and dedicate myself to advocacy and creating change. I advocate alongside young people and civil society through community health chats and focus groups that create space to listen to and amplify young people's voices, as well as movements like Fix My Food, where we have come together to push for healthier food policies. I hope more young people recognize the power of their voices and feel empowered to demand better, so that together we can create healthier communities where everyone has the access and opportunity to thrive, and where the healthy choice is the easy choice.
Natalia, 21, Jamaica
Growing up in South Africa, I have seen how deeply health is shaped by the conditions young people grow up in, particularly when it comes to access to nutritious food, health information, and opportunities to have their voices heard. This inspired me to become a health advocate and to use my voice to push for healthier and more equitable systems for children and young people. I advocate alongside young people through youth-led health and nutrition initiatives, creating spaces where we can learn, organise, and advocate for fairer food systems and stronger action on child survival. At this moment, youth health advocacy matters because the decisions being made today will shape the health and wellbeing of our generation and those who come after us, and I hope young people can help build health systems that do not simply speak about us, but listen to us and act with us—locally in South Africa and globally.
Ziyanda, 22, South Africa
Growing up in Pakistan, I saw how preventable diseases like polio continue to threaten children, and how vaccine resistance is shaped by misinformation, distrust, social barriers, and community mobility, inspiring me to advocate for child health and immunization. I work with UNICEF to raise awareness, build trust, address misinformation, and promote access to vaccines, with the goal of supporting a polio-free Pakistan and Afghanistan; the world’s last two endemic countries. Today, youth voices are essential to ending polio and creating a healthier, polio-free world where every child can thrive.
Alishba, 23, Pakistan
Growing up in a country affected by years of conflict, I witnessed children suffer from preventable diseases, malnutrition, displacement, and limited access to healthcare, clean water, and education, which inspired me to become a health advocate. Today, I work alongside communities, caregivers, and young people through health awareness, community engagement, and youth-led advocacy, helping address misinformation and promote healthier choices for children and families. At a time when preventable diseases and misinformation continue to threaten children, I believe young people have the power to turn their experiences and voices into action and help build healthier communities.
Sagal, 23, Somalia
My journey in health advocacy started from working with children and young people, where I realized that health is not just about having access to services, but also about having the right information and being heard. That’s what made me want to use my voice to advocate for better health outcomes for young people and communities. I advocate alongside young people and communities, especially those facing challenges around immunization and access to health information, by listening to their experiences and turning their voices into advocacy and action. I believe youth health advocacy matters now because young people can be part of the change, not just the people waiting for change to happen, and I hope we can create a future where every young person has access to the information, services, and opportunities they need to stay healthy.
Afina, 20, Indonesia
Growing up in Ma’an, a marginalized city in southern Jordan where unemployment exceeds 30% and environmental health hazards are part of daily life, I witnessed how poverty, pollution, and limited healthcare access compound each other in ways that fall hardest on young people, which drove me to dedicate seven years to community-based health and sustainability work. I advocate alongside the youth of Ma’an and southern Jordan, young people who carry the weight of economic hardship and environmental neglect, and together we are building grassroots initiatives — from circular economy projects that reduce toxic waste exposure to health education campaigns reaching thousands — to shift these realities from the ground up. At this moment in history, when climate change, conflict, and inequality are reshaping health outcomes for an entire generation, youth voices are not optional — they are the only force capable of making global health commitments feel real and urgent at the local level. My hope is that young people everywhere can help build health systems that do not just treat illness, but address the conditions — environmental, economic, and social — that make people sick in the first place.
Mohammad, 23, Jordan
From Aspiration to Action
Different contexts, common aspirations and a shared responsibility to turn them into action.
This International Youth Day, we call on governments and health stakeholders to listen to young people, invest in our ideas and create meaningful opportunities for us to help shape health decisions that affect our lives and communities.
And to our fellow young people: take inspiration from these stories and use what you have, whether it is your voice, your skills, your creativity or your community connections, to make a difference where you are. No action is too small when it moves us closer to healthier communities and a healthier future for all.
