Health Impact for Youth (HI4Y) has launched a dual-phase social enterprise initiative, tagged “Youth Health Action Lab: Empowering Young Changemakers Through Health Literacy,” successfully transitioning 150 beneficiaries in Niger State from passive awareness into active mental health advocates and community leaders.
The project, executed with backing from Ashoka Africa and Kwanda, was divided into a school-based mental health advocacy programme and a subsequent community health engagement phase.
The initial framework engaged 50 secondary school students in interactive capacity-building sessions. Facilitated by a mental health professional, mentors, and educators, the curriculum covered mental health, emotional wellbeing, empathy, peer support, design thinking, leadership, and changemaking.
Utilizing a peer-circle model, participants analyzed localized operational risks to student well-being—including depression, low self-esteem, peer pressure, family-related difficulties, and peer conflict. This task produced 10 distinct, student-led initiatives, including anti-bullying campaigns, peer support networks, confidence-building programmes, friendship and peer-pressure awareness initiatives as well as activities promoting positive behavior and emotional wellbeing.
