Naivasha, Kenya- 15 October 2026
The Southern Africa Youth Forum (SAYoF) is participating in the Y-ACT Learning Forum, taking place from 13 to 15 October 2026 in Naivasha, Kenya. The forum brings together youth-led, focused organisations and partners working in tobacco control across the continent. It allows them to reflect on their collective journey, celebrate their achievements, and openly share both successes and lessons learned. It also serves as a platform to discuss challenges within their organisations and in the broader tobacco control space, and to identify key insights and opportunities for growth.
The SAYoF delegation is led by Hon. Ian Vambe, the Head of Media, deputised by Dr. Vivian Joseph, Head of the Health Cluster. Their participation underscores the organisation’s commitment to youth-led health advocacy across the Southern African Development Community (SADC). SAYoF is a regional platform for young people in all 16 SADC Member States.
Making its presentation at the forum, SAYoF reflected on its regional work under the Health Cluster, carried out in partnership with Y-ACT and AMREF Health Africa in tobacco control and capacity strengthening. The delegation outlined how SAYoF has engaged in policy advocacy at the regional level, promoting tobacco control measures that protect young people and align with international standards. It also shared how the organisation has trained young people on tobacco control, equipping them with knowledge of the health, social and economic harms of tobacco use and the tactics the tobacco industry uses to target youth. SAYoF further highlighted its continued support to youth advocates across the region, mentoring them to lead awareness campaigns and take part in policy dialogue in their own countries. Reflecting on the journey so far, the delegation pointed to the value of strong partnerships, the need for sustained investment in youth capacity, and the importance of a regional approach to a challenge that does not respect national borders.
Tobacco control remains critical for the SADC region. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco kills more than 8 million people every year worldwide, including about 1.3 million non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke. Around 80 percent of the world’s tobacco users live in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is heaviest. Tobacco use is a leading risk factor for non-communicable diseases such as cancer, heart disease, stroke and chronic lung disease. These diseases place increasing pressure on already stretched health systems and push families into poverty through medical costs and lost income. Young people remain a key target of the tobacco industry, which uses aggressive marketing, flavoured products and newer nicotine products such as e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches to recruit new users. Protecting young people from nicotine addiction is therefore central to safeguarding the region’s future workforce and its demographic dividend. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and the WHO MPOWER measures offer SADC Member States a proven roadmap: monitoring tobacco use, protecting people from tobacco smoke, offering help to quit, warning about the dangers of tobacco, enforcing bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and raising taxes on tobacco products. Full implementation of these measures, alongside firm protection of public health policy from tobacco industry interference, is essential if the region is to reduce tobacco use and achieve its health and development goals.
As the Y-ACT Learning Forum continues, SAYoF remains committed to strengthening youth leadership in tobacco control across the SADC region. Building on the insights and connections gained in Naivasha, the organisation will deepen its partnerships, expand opportunities for young people, and amplify youth voices in regional and national policy processes, in pursuit of a healthier, tobacco-free generation in Southern Africa. #SAYNews
