Moses Kibet Shines at Youth forums in Europe

In October, Moses Kibet, an adolescent Champion from West Pokot, was in Europe for the International Association of Adolescent Health (IAAH) Conference in Copenhagen and the European Week of Action for Girls in Brussels.  

The IAAH Conference brought together youth advocates, health professionals, and policymakers from around the world to discuss critical issues affecting adolescents. The discussion revolved around the health of young people living with chronic illnesses, mental health, and youth engagement. The stakeholders committed to supporting adolescents and young people with chronic illnesses by designing programs promoting treatment adherence.  

In a meeting with the Danish minister of foreign affairs to discuss the Y4H project’s lessons, Kibet provided an update on establishing and bolstering an environment conducive  for young people’s access to ASRHR information and services. He highlighted the champion’s advocacy efforts through the community scorecard and engagement with government representatives, parliamentarians, and media for more inclusive policies and laws at national and regional levels.

At the EWAG conference, Kibet called for enhanced representation of young people in decision-making spaces, with the aim of amplifying the voices of SRHR in action.  He engaged with different stakeholders including the EU Directorate General International Partnerships to engage on progress of the Youth for Health project and the Irish permanent representative to the EU. 

At the EU parliament, he addressed the role of men in addressing gender- based violence and highlighted the unmet need of contraception that leads to high rates of teenage pregnancy in Kenya and sub-Saharan Africa.