International Adolescent Health Week and the Youth Ambassador Program

With more than 1.2 billion adolescents worldwide, adolescence is often perceived as a time of vitality but can also be a time of challenges. Adolescents worldwide continue to face widespread barriers to access to care and health care inequalities which can lead to long term adverse consequences for their physical, cognitive, emotional, and social well-being.

International Adolescent Health Week (IAHW) is a celebration of young people and is a platform to elevate awareness of the unique needs of adolescents, foster community engagement, and empower young people to advocate for their health needs on a global level – transcending geographical boundaries and uniting communities – in the pursuit of adolescent health equity.

Similar to adolescents and their changing worlds, IAHW has gone through several transitions over the last year as well. This grassroots project, developed in 2016 and original known as Teen Health Week, experienced a leadership transition from IAHW founder, Dr. Laura Offutt to Dr. Ngozi Oketah. IAHW found a new “home” within IAAH and changed International Adolescent Health Week from March to October! So mark your calendars for 7-13 October 2024! IAHW is also currently recruiting for their Youth Ambassador program. Read on for more details.

Youth Ambassador Program
One major aspect of IAHW is the Youth Ambassador Program. This program aims to recruit young people aged 16 to 24 to join a small cohort of likeminded individuals aimed at promoting adolescent health and well-being and empowering young people to be their own advocates. Youth Ambassadors will work with the IAHW team to create projects, campaigns, initiatives to share with their respective communities. The Youth Ambassador program has had over 200 applications from 16 countries for past cycles and the application process for the 2024 cohort is now open! Please encourage young people aged 16 to 24 to apply today!

Meet the IAHW Team
IAHW Director, Dr. Ngozi Oketah, is an adolescent pediatrician at the Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) at Crumlin & Connolly. She has been a member of the SAHM special interest group for IAHW since 2019. Oketah plans to further solidify collaborative relationships with key stakeholders, professionals, and organizations to help support IAHW. She also plans to continue to amplify youth voices in this new role.

IAHW Program Coordinator, Dr. Vhari Forsyth, is a pediatrician currently taking time to find alternative ways to promote the adolescent voice beyond the walls of clinical settings. She has skills in project management, advocacy, and working with young people both in the United Kingdom and Australia and is hoping to bring her skills and expertise to further develop and support IAHW and the Youth Ambassador program, and help further amplify IAHW as a globally recognized annual celebration of adolescent health.