Reimagining Youth Engagement through Peer Leadership, Health Advocacy & Healthy Campus By Aanvi Chauhan Community Action Team , Nada India Foundation July 2025, I n a country where half the population is below the age of 25, youth aren’t just the future—they are the pulse of the present . For years, development discourse treated them as “targets” of health campaigns. But at Nada India Foundation, we believe in flipping the script. As a CAT member myself, I’ve seen this shift firsthand. My name is Aanvi Chauhan , and as a young woman from Shimla and a part of the Nada India Community Action Team, I’ve come to realize that meaningful youth engagement isn’t about ticking boxes—it’s about trusting our voices, experiences, and energy to shape healthier communities. We see young people not as passive recipients but as active stakeholders , problem solvers, and torchbearers of healthier, more informed communities. The Community Action Team (CAT) ...
Young India Network is a youth (14-30 years) driven network for the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and its risk factors, formed with a vision of having a meaningful involvement of youth and People Living With NCDs in the advocacy of health agenda in India with a primary focus on alcohol and drug use as major risk factors for both communicable and NCDs. It aims to contribute in achieving the Goal 3 of Sustainable Development Goals,ensuring healthy lives .