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1point8 Billion Young People for Change Campaign Cameroon

The 1point8 Billion Young People for Change Campaign  (also, the #1point8 Campaign) whose brainchild is PMNCH is a novel campaign to help bridge the policy and engagement gap for adolescents’ and young people’s well-being through a combination of grassroots and grasstops approaches. DESERVE collaborates with other members of PMNCH to design this campaign and also to roll it out in Cameroon. 


The #1point8 Campaign in Cameroon follows on the heels of a successful roll out of the Advocating for Change for Adolescents Project (ACAP)  since 2017 which saw the development and government endorsement of the Adolescent Health and Well-being Package (AHWP) [consisting of the localised ACAP toolkit in English and French and an addendum on COVID-19, its effects on adolescents’ well-being and measures to mitigate the effects; a disaggregated data collection and analysis toolkit; and an age-appropriate sexuality education manual for secondary schools] on the 1st November, 2021 by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Civic Education, Mounouna Foutsou. Unlike ACAP which was officially rolled-out in five countries (Cameroon, India, Kenya, Malawi and Nigeria), the #1point8 Campaign is being officially rolled out in over 10 countries of which Cameroon is amongst. However, young people from more than 100 countries are expressing what they want for their health and well-being.

Problem Statements and Justification

Youth between 10 and 24 years make up over 32% of Cameroon’s population (Population Reference Bureau, 2016). Though adolescents are said to be one of healthiest age groups, they face many health and well-being challenges that limit them from reaching their full potentials. For instance, in Cameroon, early pregnancy among girls with only primary education is up to 178 per thousand girls while HIV prevalence among youth 15-24 ranges between 1-1.8% (NIS, MINSANTE & UNICEF, 2015). Up to 47.2% of girls are married before their 18th birthday (The Population Council & UNFPA, 2009) and many adolescents 15-19 years suffer energy deficiency mainly because of food insufficiency (Ministry of Youth Affairs and Civic Education, 2015). Moreover, there is acute need for more data on many adolescent health and well-being issues.

1point8 Campaign Aim and Milestones

  • National planning and multi-stakeholder partner engagement to support the Global Forum for Adolescents: This involves mobilising young people and other key stakeholders to plan national events to tie with the Global Forum for Adolescents in October 2023, including the 2022 curtain-raiser event.
  • Consultation with young people on advocacy “asks” in the what young people want (WYPW) campaign: This involves engaging young people to express what they want for their health and well-being. This will provide evidence for the Agenda for Action for Adolescents (policy request and commitments for improved adolescent health and well-being). Cameroon’s target number of youth outreach is 50,000 young people between 10 and 24 years.

Communications and dissemination of Agenda for Action for Adolescents and 1.8 billion campaign: This involves the development and implementation of a public-facing advocacy and communications plan to support the roll-out of the Agenda for Action for Adolescents, supporting the curtain-raiser event (October 2022), the main two-day virtual GFA and other relevant meetings as required (e.g., ECOSOC Youth Forum, Women Deliver, UN SDG Summit 2023 and the G20).

Key achievements of the #1point8 Campaign Include:

    • National planning and multi-stakeholder partner engagement to support the Global Forum for Adolescents: This involves mobilising young people and other key stakeholders to plan national events to tie with the Global Forum for Adolescents in October 2023, including the 2022 curtain-raiser event.
    • Consultation with young people on advocacy “asks” in the what young people want (WYPW) campaign: This involves engaging young people to express what they want for their health and well-being. This will provide evidence for the Agenda for Action for Adolescents (policy request and commitments for improved adolescent health and well-being). Cameroon’s target number of youth outreach is 50,000 young people between 10 and 24 years.
    • Communications and dissemination of Agenda for Action for Adolescents and 1.8 billion campaign: This involves the development and implementation of a public-facing advocacy and communications plan to support the roll-out of the Agenda for Action for Adolescents, supporting the curtain-raiser event (October 2022), the main two-day virtual GFA and other relevant meetings as required (e.g., ECOSOC Youth Forum, Women Deliver, UN SDG Summit 2023 and the G20). 


    • Key achievements of the #1point8 Campaign Include:

    The following is a summary of key achievements as of the 10th of May 2023 under each deliverable:

    • National planning and multi-stakeholder partner engagement to support the Global Forum for Adolescents: 
    • Three meetings were held with officials of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Civic Education (MINJEC) to plan for the Cameroon Forum on Adolescents (CFA).
    • A roadmap of communication and advocacy opportunities developed; presenting opportunities for spotlighting the #1point8 campaign and presentation of asks. 
    • 21 youth engaged in the use of the chatbot to mobilise what young people want across Cameroon.
    • Active participation in the planning of the Global Forum for Adolescents (GFA) through the PMNCH Political Advocacy Workstream for the GFA and the Strategic Advocacy Committee.

    • Consultation with young people on advocacy “asks” in the what young people want (WYPW) campaign: 
    • The 21 youth across Cameroon who were engaged in the use of the chatbot were trained and recruited as enumerators for the WYPW campaign.
    • Consents, approvals, and authorizations guaranteed from more than 20 in-school and out-of-school establishments where adolescents are being engaged in the WYPW campaign.
    • Direct engagement and enumeration of more than 25,000 responses from adolescents and youth across Cameroon.

    • Communications and dissemination of the Agenda for Action for Adolescents and 1.8 billion campaign: 
    • Through 41 posts on social media on Twitter, we directly registered an audience outreach of 7,504 engagements through views, likes, retweets, shares, replies and comments. Please see our social media channels.
    • Two news article publications on the GFA were realised in which the focal point, Desmond Nji discussed the #1point8 campaign and the GFA, along with asks for increased investment in services, financing and policies to improve adolescents’ health and well-being. The two publications are in the Vanguard and PM1NCH websites
    • Two radio broadcasts of a story on the #1point8 campaign and the GFA involving focal point, Desmond Nji explaining the campaign, the GFA and the policy asks for adolescent health and well-being.

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