By Dr. Tuwilika Nafuka
The difference a single year can make in the trajectory of a public health career is nothing short of profound.
Last year, I had the distinct honour of being invited to the 8th Reproductive Health Network Kenya (RHNK) Pan-African Adolescent and Youth SRHR Scientific Conference in Mombasa.
Sitting on a high-level panel discussing the Africa CDC Strategy on Youth Engagement alongside remarkable leaders from across the continent, I shared how flagship programmes like the Youth in Digital Health Network (YiDHN) and the Bingwa PLUS initiative were fundamentally shaping my understanding of meaningful youth participation in health systems.
I left Mombasa in 2025 inspired, energised, and with a clear sense of what needed to happen next.
Fast forward to June 2026, and I found myself back on that same stage, this time not as a panellist, but as a presenting author. I returned with a singular mission: to ensure that the rest of Africa is fully aware of the groundbreaking, youth-led work we are driving on the ground in Namibia.
Supported by my Africa CDC Bingwa PLUS fellowship, I represented the TupaBloom Digital Care Foundation to present “Gamifying the Last Mile: A Hybrid Board Game Model as a Novel Service Delivery Point for SRHR in Namibia.” The research showcases BloomBox, our offline, gamified board game deployed across 16 sites in Windhoek, engaging 1,722 young people from high schools, university campuses, and youth centres.
The results speak for themselves: 92% of participants felt safer discussing SRHR in a gamified setting than in a clinic, 65% gained new legal literacy around SGBV reporting protocols, and we recorded zero aggressive incidents across all sites.
Seeing a homegrown Namibian solution, built on evidence, not assumption, validated on a Pan-African stage was a milestone I will carry with me for the rest of my career.
My personal evolution mirrors a continent-wide paradigm shift that Africa CDC is actively championing through its Strategy for Youth Engagement and Participation in Global Health (YES! Health) 2025-2028, a strategy committed to moving young Africans from being passive beneficiaries of health policy to becoming the active architects of Africa’s health systems.
That transition from strategy to sovereignty was on full display at this year’s conference. The Africa CDC delegation hosted a standout plenary confronting the devastating Triple Threat of sexual and gender-based violence, new HIV infections, and adolescent pregnancies.
What struck me most was that the Africa CDC did not simply talk about youth leadership, they demonstrated it. The session was moderated by Grace Omoto, a Kenyan medical student whose participation in the Africa CDC Internship Programme exemplifies the agency’s genuine commitment to building the next generation.
Dr. Blen Getahun, one of 50 Digital Health Champions selected across Africa as part of the Youth in Digital Health Network (YiDHN) programme, spotlighted how young people are leveraging digital platforms for SRHR, and shared her own initiative, Letena Ethiopia, a platform breaking the silence on sexual, reproductive, and mental health in Ethiopia.
Rebecca Cherop of the Youth Advisory Team for Health (YAT4H) made a compelling case for embedding youth voices directly into national health ministries.
Saddam Biwa of the One Economy Foundation’s #BeFree Movement added yet another strong Namibian presence, demonstrating how youth potential translates into real community impact.
A crowning moment of the conference was the recognition of, Dr. Chrys Promesse Kaniki, Africa CDC’s Senior Technical Officer FOR Strategic Programs.
He received an award in appreciation of his impactful mentorship and unwavering support to emerging young leaders across Africa through the RHNK Pan-African Youth Leadership Academy, the very programme that has created the conditions for leaders like us to thrive.
We are no longer waiting for a seat at the global health policy table. Through innovation, evidence, and programmes like Bingwa PLUS, we are building the table ourselves. Namibia is firmly on the map, and I am more committed than ever to ensuring our local solutions become a blueprint for a healthier, sovereign Africa.
*Dr. Tuwilika Nafuka is a Namibian Medical Doctor, Chevening Scholar, Africa CDC Bingwa PLUS fellow, ONE UK and Chevening Social Media Ambassador, Africa Health Tech Summit Ambassador, and founder of TupaBloom Digital Care Foundation, passionate about leveraging technology to revolutionize health care across Africa.
