Youth Advisors Across Africa Describe a Gap Between Council Rhetoric and Real Influence

Many young people serving on youth advisory councils in Africa say their lived experience falls short of the meaningful engagement those councils are meant to provide. That is the central finding of a mixed-methods study published in BMC Public Health, in which researchers surveyed 154 current or former youth advisory council members living in Africa and conducted in-depth interviews with 14 of them. All participants were aged between 18 and 30, resided across 15 countries, and the vast majority, 94.2 percent, were serving on councils at the time of the study.

The research team, led by Luwam T. Gebrekristos and colleagues, set out to answer three questions: who participates in youth advisory councils in Africa, how those members define meaningful youth engagement, and what factors facilitate their participation. The authors note that despite Africa’s rapidly growing adolescent population, existing research on youth engagement has largely focused on barriers in non-African contexts. In the study, quantitative survey responses were summarized using descriptive statistics, while the qualitative interviews were analyzed thematically, and findings from both sources were triangulated to identify key patterns.

Despite the diversity of the participants’ councils and roles, the study found broad agreement on what meaningful engagement means. Members consistently described it in terms of co-creation, working alongside organizations to shape decisions rather than simply being consulted, and having their voices genuinely valued by the institutions they advise. The surveys and interviews also converged on two conditions that members said make this kind of engagement attainable. The first is structural: organizations must integrate youth perspectives into their core frameworks, embedding young advisors in decision-making processes rather than treating them as an add-on. The second is providing key support to the young people taking part.

Yet the study’s central result is a gap between ideal and reality. Many participants reported that their lived experiences as youth advisors fell short of the meaningful engagement they described.

The authors argue that these findings carry particular weight given Africa’s demographics, concluding that engaging and amplifying adolescent voices when developing policies and advocating for solutions is essential for both youth development and broader social and economic outcomes. The study’s limitations follow from its design and sample: it is cross-sectional, capturing experiences at a single point in time, and it reflects the perspectives of young people who had already gained access to councils rather than those excluded from them.

Subject of Research: Youth advisory council members' experiences and definitions of meaningful youth engagement in Africa

Article Title: Insights from the young people who serve on youth advisory councils in Africa: a mixed-methods study

Article References: Gebrekristos, L. T., Pagán, S., Albert, I., Choonara, S., Mensa-Kwao, A., Jácome, D. I., Biermann, O., Nagata, J. M., Li, L., O’Sullivan, M., Ezeh, A., Baird, S., & Groves, A. K. (2026). Insights from the young people who serve on youth advisory councils in Africa: a mixed-methods study. BMC Public Health, 26(1), Article 3089. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-30072-x

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-026-30072-x

Keywords: youth advisory councils, youth engagement, Africa, mixed methods, co-creation, adolescent health, public health policy, cross-sectional study, qualitative interviews, BMC Public Health, youth participation, Insights