Malawi | Climate & Health | Youth Engagement

Key Achievements

• Film: “Leveraging youth voices for community engagement”
  
• Animation: “Leveraging youth voices for community engagement”

In Ndirande, an informal settlement in Blantyre, poor waste management intensified the health impacts of climate change, contributing to flooding, disease risk, and disruptions to essential services. Wezzie Gausi and Tracy Chasima led a community-based project that addressed these interconnected challenges by placing youth voices at the centre of climate and health communication, reframing waste management as a shared public health responsibility rather than a purely municipal concern.

Working with schools and youth groups, the project translated climate and health evidence into drama, radio jingles, clean-up campaigns, and social media messaging.

By empowering youth as educators and advocates, the initiative demonstrated how low-cost, locally driven communication strategies could strengthen climate resilience, promote healthier environments, and support longer-term collaboration between communities and decision-makers.

“Empowering youth to lead awareness campaigns will amplify their voices, enhance their sense of environmental stewardship, and contribute to improved health outcomes for future generations.”