Editor’s Note
As part of the PMNCH-supported Advocating for Change project, young advocates across Nigeria have been championing the What Young People Want campaign. A movement that gathered more than 1.8 billion responses from adolescents and youth worldwide.
These voices shaped the Agenda for Action for Adolescents (AAA), a youth-powered roadmap to secure adolescent health, education, protection, and empowerment. For International Youth Day, we share a story that threads together the journeys, lessons, and hopes of three Nigerian advocates — Sherifat Tanimu, Nenge-nen Raphael Nongo, and Lawi Justice — as they work to bring the AAA framework to life.
When the What Young People Want campaign began in Nigeria, it wasn’t just another advocacy initiative. For the young advocates leading it, it was a movement and a chance to amplify the realities, demands, and dreams of adolescents, and to push for change where it matters most.
The AAA framework gives governments and communities a clear roadmap but action is the fuel. That action means policymakers funding youth programs and reforming harmful laws, educators teaching inclusively and empowering students, and young people themselves continuing to raise their voices.
The journey of these Nigerian advocates shows that the fight for adolescent well-being is not a distant goal it’s happening now, in planning rooms, community dialogues, online campaigns, and everyday acts of courage.
As the world marks International Youth Day, their message is clear: The well-being of adolescents is not optional, it’s essential. And the time to act is now.
