Lusaka, Zambia – 23 March 2026

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts, United Nations Children's Fund and World Health Organization, has launched Phase I of the Youth Mental Health and Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Prevention Champion Platform under the Health4Life Initiative.

The launch, held in Lusaka, marks a strategic step toward strengthening prevention, early identification and community-based responses to mental health challenges and NCD risk factors among young people in Zambia.

Officiating the Launch, Ministry of Youth, Sports and Arts Acting Director of Youth, Mr. Kakuwa Musheke, highlighted the central role of young people in shaping sustainable solutions, noting that youth engagement is critical to achieving long-term behavioural change. 

“Young people are not only beneficiaries of these interventions, they are partners and leaders. By equipping them with knowledge and skills, we are investing in a generation that can influence peers, reduce stigma and promote healthier lifestyles across communities,” he said. 

In a speech read on behalf of UNDP Resident Representative Dr James Wakiaga by Programme Advisor Dr Saleban Omar, Dr Wakiaga underscored the growing intersection between mental health conditions and non-communicable diseases among adolescents and youth. 

He noted that increasing exposure to tobacco use, harmful alcohol consumption, substance abuse, sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets is contributing to long-term health risks, reduced productivity and loss of human potential.

“This is not simply a health issue” he said “It is a development and governance issue, with direct implications for Zambia’s human capital and national prosperity,” 

Dr Wakiaga emphasized that the initiative represents a shift from fragmented, short-term awareness campaigns to a structured, institutionalised and youth-led prevention model embedded within national systems.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Health National Mental Health Coordinator, Dr. Francisca Bwalya, reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to strengthening integrated responses to mental health and NCDs, highlighting the importance of prevention and early intervention at community level. 

“We recognise that mental health and non-communicable diseases are placing an increasing burden on our health system. This platform supports our efforts to decentralise services, strengthen referral pathways and empower communities to play an active role in prevention,” she said.

The Youth Mental Health and NCD Prevention Champion Platform will deploy trained youth champions across Lusaka, Ndola and Kitwe, where they will operate within schools, communities and youth centres, working in coordination with local health facilities. The platform is designed to complement clinical services by strengthening early detection, referral systems and peer-led support mechanisms.

The initiative aligns with Zambia’s 8th National Development Plan, the National Health Strategic Plan and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, all of which recognise youth wellbeing as a key driver of sustainable development.

UNDP indicated that the platform will be progressively expanded and institutionalised within national systems, with the potential to serve as a model for youth-led mental health and NCD prevention in the region.

The launch marks the beginning of a broader effort to strengthen community resilience, promote healthy behaviours and safeguard the mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of Zambia’s young people.

For more information and media interviews, contact:

For UNDP: Pity Halwindi, National Coordinator, pity.halwindi@undp.org, Mobile: 260977465640

Mercy Khozi, Communications Analyst, mercy.khozi@undp.org, Mobile: 260 966750787

Ministry of Health: Jacqueline Sitali, Head Communication and Public Relations, sitali.jacqueline@moh.gov.zm, Mobile: 260977785544

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