On December 03, 2020, YEDI inaugurated the pioneer Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) of the USAID Youth-Powered Ecosystem to Advance Urban Adolescent Health and Well-Being (YPE4AH) project. The committee is made up of ten adolescents aged 15 – 19 years, drawn from five local government areas in Lagos State, namely; Lagos Island, Ikorodu, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Alimosho and Agege Local Government Areas. Parents and guardians of the selected adolescents were present and consented for their wards to participate in the YPE4AH Youth Advisory Committee.
During the inauguration, details of the project such as its goal, objectives and expected outcomes were shared with the adolescents. Also, the objectives of the committee, membership, responsibilities of members, frequency of meetings and guiding principles were discussed.
The primary role of the committee is to drive program design and solutions, ensuring adolescent centred interventions that are responsive to the needs of the projects target group. Members will also amplify the voices of other adolescents in their community and continuously contribute to making suggestions to improve the program. Not only will they contribute to the project, but their leadership skills will also be built and they would gain knowledge on sexual and reproductive health.
Members were enjoined to be open-minded and respectful of each other’s opinions, actively participate in meetings and activities and most importantly commit to the prevention of all forms of abuse, physical and sexual abuse.
The event was attended by DAI and other consortia partners- Grassroot Soccer, Women Friendly Initiative and Yellow Brick Road.
They immediately assumed duties as they brainstormed on youth-friendly names, taglines and logos for the project.