Completed
Youth Leaders for Nutrition (YL4N)
How CS-SUNN built Nigeria’s first SUN Civil Society Youth Network, and gave young people a formal voice in nutrition governance.
Why it matters
Young Nigerians were missing from the room
Young people are the majority of Nigeria’s population and are hit hard by malnutrition, yet they had no platform in nutrition policy and no route into the SUN Movement.
110+
youth advocates recruited, trained and mentored
Source: YL4N youth brief, 2026
Results
What was built
1st national youth networkNigeria’s first organised SUN Civil Society Youth Network.
12 state team leadersLeading advocacy and community dialogue in their states.
6 geopolitical zonesActive youth structures nationwide, beyond the original target.
A seat on a state committeeA YL4N advocate is now a formal member of Cross River’s State Committee on Food and Nutrition.
Community dialoguesAdvocates led nutrition dialogues and awareness sessions in their communities.
Inclusion by designYouth living with disabilities were deliberately included.
How we worked
Advocates who go into communities
- Recruitment and orientation across all six zones.
- Mentoring of every advocate through the programme.
- Community dialogues led by the advocates themselves.
- Reporting back into SUN governance structures.
What we learned
Youth-led advocacy is highly effective.Advocates opened doors programme staff could not.
Structured networks outlast programmes.Governance and state leadership let the network continue without donor funding.
Inclusion is not optional.Youth with disabilities brought perspectives that are often overlooked.
Knowledge products from this project
All resources
Join the youth network
Young advocates, volunteers and partners can get involved with YL4N.