Adolescent & Youth Advisory Board

The ARISE Adolescent & Youth Advisory Board (AYAB) was established in June 2024. The AYAB is comprised of 2 representatives per country (1 male and 1 female), aged 18-24 years, from each partner country in the DASH network (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda). The AYAB meets once a month to provide valuable feedback on important activities of the ARISE-NUTRINT and DASH projects as well as building skills in research, leadership, and advocacy.

There are 12 out of 14 board seats filled (seats available: 1 male for Burkina Faso, 1 male for Nigeria)

Members of the AYAB have been selected through a competitive process organized by the AYAB Steering Committee (YABSC). The YABSC includes key partners from the African countries in the DASH network. The recruitment period was April through June, 2024. Flyers were distributed to site leadership to disseminate across their institutions and relevant networks. There was a total of 41 adolescents who applied through an online form that included a video submission, and ultimately 12 selected to serve on the AYAB for a two-year term (June, 2024 to May 2026).

After the initial kick-off meeting in June, AYAB members worked with the YABSC to collaboratively create a workplan for the next year. This included several opportunities for skill building (topics include research methods, policy, leadership, etc.) as well as intentional activities to gather feedback on potential interventions. AYAB members are also engaged with their country’s institutional site and have been able to attend local research conferences, be involved with HDSS survey data collection, and attend intervention co-design workshops.