Sustaining youth-participatory advocacy on sexual and reproductive health and rights: longitudinal case studies from Malawi and Niger

Youth are increasingly visible as advocates for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), yet barriers to meaningful participation remain high and the sustainability of youth advocacy is understudied. This study examines how youth advocates in the Break Free! programme in Malawi and Niger experience and navigate the individual, relational, and institutional conditions that shape sustained engagement. Data was collected between 2023 and 2025 through reflection diaries and in-depth interviews with youth, key informant interviews with policy-makers and programme staff and reflection sessions. Guided by the CLEAR framework (Lowndes et al., Citation2006), sustainability emerged as shaped by capacities, motivation, infrastructures, mobilisation and institutional responsiveness. Sustaining youth advocacy depends on supportive ecosystems and meaningful participation experiences. However, participation remained programme-dependent and unevenly distributed, limiting young people’s influence on decision-making. Sustainable youth SRHR advocacy in Malawi and Niger therefore requires more inclusive mobilisation, equitable resource access, intergenerational power-sharing, and credible institutional responsiveness.