During a buzzling morning, Deborah Ekpo settled at a workstation near her house and logged into her laptop, ready for the next Youth for Pandemic Alliance (Youth PALLI) Fellowship training session with her colleagues across Nigeria. Young public health professionals like her also joined virtually, not just to learn, but to build alliances that lead advocacy and policy actions towards shaping the future of pandemic preparedness and infection prevention. By the end of 2025, 30 fellows had completed the inaugural Youth PALLI Fellowship, a first-of-its-kind, designed to develop youth as active participants in Nigeria’s health security landscape.

Youth PALLI emerged as a response to the fact that youth are not integrated into health security decision-making and policy development. In addition, communities remain vulnerable to pandemics due to climate crises; there is increasing human-animal interface; and coordination across public health systems is weak. DRASA (Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh) Health Trust and Alliance for Sustainable Livestock, in partnership with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), launched Youth PALLI  to close this gap. The initiative aligns directly with Nigeria’s One Health Strategic Plan (OHSP) and the National Action Plan on AMR (NAP 2.0), while advancing global priorities in health, responsible practices, and partnerships. 

“The training helped me see where youth voices can directly influence policy and emergency responses,” Deborah reflected. Her sentiment echoed across the cohort, which participated in bi-weekly virtual sessions throughout 2025. The six-module curriculum  covered global health security, AMR Social Behavior Change Communication, Health Emergency Preparedness and Response,  One Health leadership and governance, policy advocacy and system thinking, and grant writing. DRASA delivered the six-module curriculum, while the NCDC provided technical guidance and institutional support, culminating in the appointment of a national One Health Focal Person, a tangible step towards youth integration in national decision-making for health security.

The initiative reached beyond individual development as Fellows collaborated with over a dozen youth-led organizations, enhancing multisectoral coordination on pandemic preparedness and infection prevention. Through interactive group exercises and hands-on advocacy simulations, participants strengthened their skills in governance, strategic planning, and resource mobilization. By the end of the journey, all 30 Fellows had successfully completed the full curriculum, reporting increased confidence and clarity in their roles as emerging public health champions and leaders.

Fellows learned to navigate complex public health governance structures and saw their contributions translate into national-level influence. “We’re not just trainees; we’re partners in shaping health security,” said Julius Yusuf, emphasizing how Youth PALLI institutionalized youth engagement in ways previous initiatives had not.

DRASA and partners faced challenges, from coordinating participants across virtual platforms to aligning sessions with national schedules. Yet these hurdles reinforced the critical lesson that youth-led initiatives must be integrated formally into governance structures to maximize impact. Youth PALLI has demonstrated that structured youth engagement is not an optional add-on, but a strategic asset for national health security.

Looking ahead, DRASA will formalize Youth PALLI’s governance framework, expand continental representation, and scale youth-led policy engagement at national and subnational levels. Youth PALLI has set a replicable model for One Health leadership development across Africa, ensuring that young professionals are not only trained but developed to safeguard communities against future pandemics and contribute to infection prevention.

For Deborah, Julius and their peers, every virtual session, discussion, and advocacy exercise was a learning opportunity and a step towards a healthier, safer Nigeria, driven by youth who are now equipped with the skills, vision, and authority to lead.