How AstraZeneca's work with young people is enacting change worldwide

We are privileged to work with many inspiring young people to make change happen in youth health. These include our UNICEF Leaders, YHP One Young World scholars, recipients of Step Up! global grants and youth leaders in our programmes. They provide experience and insights on the challenges youth face and how they can be overcome, and are powerful and persuasive advocates for policy change to improve youth health.

We work with UNICEF youth leaders to focus our advocacy activities. These include disruptors, artists, social entrepreneurs, researchers, professionals, and activists - all aiming to achieve positive policy change. They highlight the emerging issues and realities facing young people today - and the priorities, concerns, and solutions that they self-identify - and play a key role in making change happen.

Our annual award of over 20 scholarships to the One Young World Summit, at which our scholars can share ideas with almost two thousand other young people, hear from some of the world’s most inspiring thought leaders and build their own networks and skills. 

We also support the work of young people around the world to make change happen through.

• Supporting innovative youth-led programmes through our Step Up! Global Grants Programme, which started in 2018 and helps small non-profits to increase their impact and operate at greater scale

• Providing advocacy support and training through seminars run by our partners at the NCD Alliance and the Population Reference Bureau

• Helping youth voices to be heard at the highest levels, for example Margianta Surahman Juhanda Dinata from Indonesia visited the World Health Assembly, and other YHP partners at the Youth Assembly.

• Capturing and communicating their concerns for example on what they think world leaders should be doing in our ‘Postcards to Power’ campaign and other youth voices  initiatives. Many such as Ferdy Mbiydzenyuy have very firm views.

• Helping youth to inform policy and to improve youth access to healthcare - for example by scorecarding health facilities or lobbying to ensure that promised standards and facilities are delivered.