One Year of Impact: How the NPCC is Centring Youth Voices in Adolescent Pregnancy Policy

A year ago, the National Pregnancy and Childcare Coalition (NPCC) launched with an ambitious mission: to move beyond policy recommendations and actually push implementation forward. Part of the Kids with Kids project, the NPCC brings together a powerful mix of stakeholders from government representatives, civil society, international organizations, and most importantly, young people with lived experience of adolescent pregnancy and parenting, together as an advisory body.

At the heart of these conversations are adolescents themselves. The NPCC recognized early that meaningful policy cannot be shaped in boardrooms without the voices of those it affects.

The Kids with Kids project has made this principle concrete through its Youth Advisors program, which supports individuals aged 17–24 who have personal experience with adolescent pregnancy and parenting. These young people aren't invited to rubber-stamp decisions made by adults; they have a clear, supported voice in the policies, practices, and decisions that shape their lives. This approach transforms the typical policy development process. Rather than experts deciding what young parents need, the people who live these realities every day are at the table, informing strategy from the ground up.

On September 8th — exactly one year after the NPCC began — the coalition marked a pivotal moment. Seven government representatives, alongisde UN agencies (UNFPA, UNESCO), the World Bank, non-governmental organizations and civil society groups, gathered to continue the work of shaping policy, but this gathering was about far more than discussion. The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare convened the network to develop an implementation plan for the Multisectoral Policy for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and Management.

One year in, the NPCC has moved from concept to concrete action. The network has already influenced the development of a major multisectoral policy, and now it's in the critical phase of figuring out how to make that policy real in communities across the country.