YHP South Africa - UNICEF

In South Africa, young people can face food environments that make it difficult to choose healthy, nutritious options. UNICEF South Africa reports that the current food environment is flooded with ultra-processed foods, making healthy choices harder to access.

UNICEF South Africa also highlights that young people are concerned about pervasive food marketing and misleading health claims, and that youth advocates are calling for stronger regulation to protect children, young people and consumers.

To strengthen adolescent health and support NCD prevention in South Africa by:

• Raising awareness of nutrition, physical activity and NCD prevention.
• Empowering young people to advocate for healthier food environments.
• Supporting youth participation in policy discussions on food labelling, marketing restrictions, school food environments and adolescent health.
• Strengthening systems and policies that make healthier choices easier, more affordable and more available for children and young people.

• Supporting youth-led advocacy through the Fix My Food movement.
• Raising awareness of healthy eating, physical activity and NCD prevention through schools, universities, digital channels and national campaign moments.
• Supporting healthier school food environments through the Blueprint for Improving South African School Food Environments.
• Contributing to policy action on front-of-package warning labels, restrictions on unhealthy food marketing to children, obesity prevention and adolescent health.

The programme is structured around three interconnected pillars: awareness, empowerment and action.

1. Awareness

The Programme raises awareness of nutrition, physical activity and NCD prevention through schools, universities, health facilities, social media and youth-led campaigns.

In 2020, UNICEF worked with the Government of South Africa on a National Nutrition and National Obesity Week campaign with the theme 'Good Nutrition for Good Immunity'. The campaign encouraged young people to make healthier food choices and stay physically active to help prevent NCDs and support overall health.

In 2022, the 'My Body, My Health: My Wealth' campaign used youth-designed digital content, social media activations, live challenges and influencers to promote healthier lifestyles among adolescents and young people.

More recently, awareness activities have included National Nutrition Week, World Obesity Day, school-based NCD prevention messaging, social media outreach and interactive tools such as polls, petitions, chatbots and e-learning.

2. Empowerment

The Programme supports young people to become advocates for healthier food environments.

Through the Fix My Food movement, young people in South Africa are calling for a fairer food system where healthy food is available, accessible and affordable for every child and young person. Youth advocates are supported through workshops, mentoring and skills-building in food policy advocacy, communication and stakeholder engagement.

Young advocates work with government, academia, civil society and peers to raise awareness of unhealthy food environments and call for change. They have also engaged university students in food systems reform and represented youth perspectives in national, regional and global policy spaces.

This includes participation in the Nutrition for Growth Summit in France, where South African Fix My Food advocate Siphosethu Nase addressed global leaders on the need for stronger food policies to protect children and young people from unhealthy food marketing.

3. Action

The Programme supports youth engagement in policy processes and system-level change.

Fix My Food advocates have called for front-of-package warning labels, stronger restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy foods to children, and healthier food environments in schools and on university campuses.

Youth advocacy is supporting broader efforts connected to South Africa’s draft Regulations Relating to the Labelling and Advertising of Foodstuffs, known as R3337, which aim to strengthen food labelling and restrict unhealthy food marketing to children.

The Programme has also supported the Blueprint for Improving South African School Food Environments. The Blueprint has progressed from concept to pilot, with a national scale-up plan designed to support healthier food environments across schools.

In addition, youth evidence and programme learning have contributed to wider policy discussions on obesity prevention, NCD prevention, the Integrated School Health Policy and the National Adolescent and Youth Health Policy.

Raising awareness and supporting healthier lifestyles

• Reached 1.28 million young people in 2025 with messages on nutrition and NCD prevention.
• Reached 425,000 learners in 500 schools in 2025 with NCD prevention messaging.
• Reached 2 million people through the 'My Body, My Health: My Wealth' digital initiative.
• Established schools as a key platform for health promotion through the 2020 National Nutrition and National Obesity Week campaign.

Empowering young people to lead change

• Supported 75 youth advocates in 2025 to call for change at local, national and regional level.
• Trained Fix My Food advocates in food policy advocacy, communications and stakeholder engagement.
• Enabled youth advocates to engage university students, policymakers, civil society and global audiences on healthier food environments.
• Supported youth participation in high-level platforms, including the Nutrition for Growth Summit.

Influencing systems and policy action

• Supported the national launch of Fix My Food in South Africa.
• Supported development and piloting of the Blueprint for Improving South African School Food Environments.
• Supported technical and advocacy work connected to R3337 on food labelling and advertising.
• Contributed youth evidence and programme learning to policy discussions on obesity prevention, NCD prevention, school food environments and adolescent health.

Photo Credit: ©UNICEF/36692/Pirozzi and UNICEF/UNI363387/Schermbrucker 
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