YoPA Nigeria: Progress So Far
In Nigeria, the Youth-centred Participatory Action (YoPA) project is working with adolescents, schools, and communities to co-create sustainable solutions that promote healthy lifestyles and reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Co-Creation sessions
In Nigeria, the co-creation process was implemented at Ido Osun High School, Osun State where 22 adolescents participated as co-researchers. Rather than focusing only on individual behaviour, the sessions explored how school schedule, community design, family expectations, safety, and available spaces interact to influence movement behaviours and overall well-being.
The first session focused on building trust. Together, the adolescents developed a team agreement to ensure respectful dialogue, safe disagreement, equal opportunity to speak and active participation. This foundation ensured that every young person felt heard and valued.
Using simple language and relatable examples, the adolescents identified key factors affecting their physical activity behaviours and well-being. Instead of asking, “Why aren’t you more active?” we asked: “Why is it difficult to be active here?” This shifted the focus from individual responsibility to how environmental and structural factors influence healthy movement behaviours. Interactive tools such as group discussions, interviews, presentations, drawings, energizers, mapping exercises, reflection forms, and take-home activities were adopted to elicit responses and deepen their analysis.
Afterwards, the co-researchers explored the school and community environments. They examined the available facilities and spaces within the school, the barriers limiting their use, as well as the community resources and neighbourhood design. Through school tours, stakeholder discussions, and a community “neighbourhood safari” using Photovoice, adolescents documented spaces that either promote or hinder movement behaviours and well-being. They began to see how school, home, and community systems are interconnected.
The sessions also included engagement with stakeholders such as a public health professional, school staff & administrators, an urban planner, and parent representatives. These discussions strengthened intergenerational dialogue and deepened understanding of contextual realities. Overall, these interactions led to the creation of the Nigeria systems map.
Key Lesson from the Co-Creation Phase: When systems thinking is grounded in adolescents’ daily experiences, using stories, drawings, and local language, it becomes practical and meaningful. The co-creation phase laid the foundation for tailoring youth-driven, context-specific interventions now being implemented in Nigeria.
Tailoring the Intervention (From Systems Map to Action)
Following the 10 co-creation sessions at Ido Osun High School, a systems map was developed to visualise how different factors interact to influence adolescents’ movement behaviours and well-being. Rather than attempting to change everything at once, the team identified a strategic focus area within the system map which is the outdoor school space. This helped narrow the intervention to a feasible, high-impact entry point within the broader system. Furthermore, additional stakeholders were identified to ensure sustainability. This step reinforced that meaningful systems change requires shared responsibility.
As part of the systems analysis, existing initiatives in neighbouring secondary schools were explored. This comparison highlighted structural gaps, and helped define what meaningful change could look like within the local context. Hence, this helped to develop and prioritise new actions ideas/intervention for the school. These priorities addressed both structural barriers and safety concerns identified earlier.
For better understanding of how the system impact can be maximized, the action scales model was taught to the adolescents and adopted for their use to co-develop a contextually relevant intervention. The team examined events, structures, goals and beliefs. By addressing structures and beliefs, not just behaviours, the intervention aimed to shift how physical activity is perceived within the school system. A theory of change storyline was also developed to clarify assumptions, and guide the intervention design,
At the end of these sessions, an intervention prototype was developed, with most activities intentionally low-cost and adaptable. The transition from systems mapping to action marks a critical step in translating youth insights into structured, sustainable intervention.
Key Lesson from the Tailoring Phase: Effective systems change requires focusing on strategic leverage points, engaging decision-makers early, challenging underlying beliefs and co-designing practical, context-appropriate solutions
Implementation in Progress
Currently, the intervention is being implemented at Ido Osun High School while Olofa Grammar school, Osun State is the control site. This intervention will run for a period of 12 weeks.
Prepared by Adefunke Ogunleye on behalf of the YoPA Nigerian team
The YoPA Nigerian team
- Dayo Omotoso
- Ademola Adebisi
- Anita Okafor
- Abisola Ojelere
- Joy Peter
- Florence Oyelekan
- Adefunke Ogunleye
- Adewale Oyeyemi
