From October 15 to 17, 2025, members of the SANSAS and CLV2 projects (Solthis, Equipop, JED, RAES, young leaders, ANJSRPF, RJPA MGF/E) came together to share, capitalize on, and strengthen their actions around democracy in health. This joint workshop provided an opportunity to consolidate a collection of resources and experiences, while reaffirming a common ambition: to strengthen the effective and sustainable participation of young people in health decision-making bodies.
A collection of tools for questioning power in health care
On the first day, participants shared their various projects related to democracy in healthcare:
- The SANSAS project policy briefs, which formalize the lessons learned and advocacy guidelines of young leaders;
- The guide "Towards Democracy in Health" developed during the JEV project, which serves as a practical tool to support stakeholders in implementing participatory approaches for conducting a social audit and supporting youth empowerment:
- Thevideo serieshighlighting the empowerment of female listeners of the JEV project, valuing young people's voices and their role in transforming health systems;
- The scientific article entitled " Democracy in health: adopting a feminist approach to combat social oppression," which highlights the importance of an intersectional, decolonial, and committed approach;
- The capitalization document produced on empowerment and advocacy carried out as part of the SANSAS project, "From empowerment to advocacy for teens and young people: feedback from the SANSAS project," illustrating the growing capacity of young people and communities;
- The SANSAS project Scorecard assessment, which measures progress and challenges in the practical application of democratic principles in healthcare settings (document forthcoming).
Mini-lab to extend the democratic innovation of the SANSAS and JEV projects
A second highlight of the workshop was the organization of a mini-incubation lab using the EquipopLab methodology. Advocacy efforts to date have led to significant progress at the national level:
- The effective and legitimate participation of five youth umbrella organizations in national and local SRMNIA governance bodies,
- The signing of an integration note by the Directorate of Maternal and Child Health (DSME),
- Institutionalizing youth participation in the SRMNIA committee,
- Strengthening dialogue between young people and health authorities.
Building on these achievements, a new advocacy campaign is being developed with the CLV2 project, with the aim of obtaining, within seven months, an agreement from the youth organizations that are members of the SRMNIA national committee to establish and operationalize a mutual accountability mechanism between the national committee and local youth organizations.
The specific objectives of this mechanism are:
- Ensure the flow of information and decisions from the national committee to local youth CSOs in order to strengthen youth-to-youth accountability.
- Organize the collection of local organizations' needs by the SRMNIA Youth Advisory Council (YAC) to ensure broader and more inclusive participation in national bodies.
New collective momentum in 2026: consolidate, transform, move forward
Among the outputs expected to follow on from this workshop are the CLV2 project mirror sessions, which aim to further the discussion on redefining power relations between young people and healthcare providers. Specific work will also focus on strategies to enable the long-term participation of young people in decision-making forums, which is essential for strengthening accountability and the impact of public policies.
The joint workshop between the SANSAS and CLV2 projects demonstrated the importance of building collective work based on sharing experiences, capitalizing on knowledge, and joint reflection. These exchanges are all the more essential as the JEV2 and SANSAS2 projects are set to launch in 2026.
Consistency and synergies between these initiatives will be crucial to strengthening health democracy, supporting sustainable and recognized youth participation, and advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights in Senegal.
