Thanks to the generous support of the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard Kennedy School, I will be working with Adolescent Health Champions on research and expansion!
<aside> 💡 Adolescent Health Champions is a 501c3 nonprofit that trains youth as health educators to take on gender and health inequalities in India and improve health outcomes.
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I feel so incredibly fortunate to be a part of an incredible summer 2021 cohort and also the larger alumni network of WAPPP fellows who have supported policy, business, public, and nonprofit endeavors to close critical gender gaps.
💬 What does AHC do?
AHC trains youth in India, especially from low-income and marginalized communities, to fight gender and health inequalities by closing a critical information gap. Topics like puberty and reproductive health, mental health, etc. are still highly taboo in the Indian society. That combined with the lack of adolescent healthcare infrastructure in the country means that 240 million youth lose out on the opportunity to thrive during adolescence and reach their potential as healthy adults. This especially affects young girls, who most disproportionately bear the impacts of health inequities - in the form of higher likelihood of teen pregnancies and anemia, missing school due to menstruation, and other challenges.
👣 Where are they heading next?
A lot of exciting things are in store for the organization - including government partnerships, expanding to more schools across the country, COVID-19 emergency response programming prioritizing mental health for the youth, and research on improving behavioral outcomes as well as the state of adolescent health infrastructure and policy in India.
💪🏽. How am I adding value?
I'm ecstatic and grateful about playing a part in helping the organization grow through assisting research and expansion efforts! As a policy and business student passionate about gender, health, and education, this presents an incredible opportunity to put my business acumen to use in the organization's expansion and partnerships efforts and my research background and skills to think on a systems-level about shaping policies for adolescent wellbeing.
