Meet the Emerging Leaders
East Africa Cohort:
Why East Africa?
East Africa, home to 116.8 million people under age 35, is a region full of vibrant and dynamic young people. While their presence offers immense potential, it also presents pressing challenges. Despite significant investments by non-governmental organizations, the need for youth-centered advocacy remains crucial to address their specific needs and aspirations. Compounding these challenges, the climate crisis continues to take a heavy toll, with severe droughts in recent years affecting millions. At the same time, anti-rights actors are increasingly threatening hard-won progress for girls, women, and gender-diverse people across the region.
Despite these obstacles, East Africa has consistently shown leadership in advancing universal health coverage (UHC), with Kenya, Ethiopia, and Rwanda leading the charge. Women Deliver, alongside partners in the Alliance for Gender Equality and UHC has been working with countries in the region to bolster these efforts. With a supportive environment for youth advocacy and strong partnerships — like those forged through the Women Deliver 2023 Conference in Rwanda and the Deliver for Good Campaign in Senegal and Kenya — East Africa is well- positioned to advance the goals of the Emerging Leaders for Change Program.
30
Emerging Leaders in East Africa
7
Emerging Leaders in Kenya
6
Emerging Leaders in Uganda
5
Emerging Leaders in Ethiopia
5
Emerging Leaders in Tanzania
4
Emerging Leaders in Rwanda
3
Emerging Leaders in Burundi
5
Emerging Leaders
Ages 15-19
12
Emerging Leaders
Ages 20-24
13
Emerging Leaders
Ages 25-29
Emerging Leaders Program Mentors
A key feature of the Emerging Leaders Program is the Alumni Leadership Hub — a vibrant space where Women Deliver Program Alumni can sustain their connection with us by serving as program advisers and mentors to new cohorts of Emerging Leaders. Drawing on their invaluable expertise, Young Leader Alumni play a pivotal role as contributors and allies in developing the Emerging Leaders Program, offering the knowledge and expertise needed to support Emerging Leaders on their advocacy journey.
Women Deliver recruited five Young Leader Alumni to provide context-specific guidance and co-creating learning opportunities for and with Emerging Leaders. These Alumni live in or connect their advocacy to Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda.
In collaboration with the Youth Engagement team, the Mentors will support in:
- Providing context-specific guidance to Emerging Leaders as they implement their advocacy projects on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for adolescent girls within one of the priority countries.
- Enhancing Emerging Leaders’ professional skills as SRHR advocates by sharing feminist guidance and specialized knowledge on Women Deliver’s issue areas or other key SRHR areas of expertise.
- Facilitating knowledge-sharing, collaboration, and peer support among Emerging Leader mentees working in similar contexts or on similar issues.
Bios
How We Work
We advance the health and rights of adolescent girls by creating spaces for collective action, championing and supporting youth advocacy, and convening likeminded organizations. In everything we do, we aim to shift power into the hands of those closest to and living the challenges that girls face.
