🧵 THREAD: How the IANNA Community Helped Pave the Way for Namibia’s Sex Offenders’ Register #SOR #IANNACommunity

By Dr. Tuwilika Nafuka The difference a single year can make in the trajectory of a public health career is nothing short of profound. Last year, I had the distinct honour of being invited to the 8th Reproductive Health Network Kenya (RHNK) Pan-African Adolescent and Youth SRHR Scientific Conference in Mombasa. Sitting on a high-level panel discussing the Africa CDC Strategy on Youth Engagement alongside remarkable leaders from across the continent, I shared how flagship programmes like the Youth in Digital Health Network (YiDHN) and the Bingwa PLUS initiative were fundamentally shaping my understanding of meaningful youth participation in health systems. I left Mombasa in 2025 inspired, energised, and with a clear sense of what needed to happen next. thebrief.com.na/2026/06/arch… #namibia #publichealth #healthnetwork #digitalhealth @TuwilikaNafuka

Great one... Thanks @TuwilikaNafuka for sharing your experience engaging in the @AfricaCDCYouth initiatives and inspiring more young people out there... This is why @AfricaCDC trusts and invests in young African leaders. Thanks @TheBriefLive team for your support. #YESHealth #YouthLeadershipInHealth #AHSS

Hearing Dr. @PromesseCKaniki talk about SRHR, LGBTQI and Human rights at the @rhnkorg it’s truly refreshing. #RHNKPanAfricanConference2026

From #SRHR advocacy to digital innovation and community action, youth are already driving change and expanding access to health services. Investing in young people is not an option, but a strategic investment. @AfricaCDC #YESHealth Strategy exists to achieve this vision.

Bringing together youth leaders, scientists, policymakers, partners, and advocates, this year’s @rhnkorg Conference in Mombasa is spotlighting youth #agency &strengthen collective action to advance adolescent and youth sexual & reproductive health and rights #SRHR across Africa.

The message was clear: youth are driving innovation and championing sexual and reproductive health and rights at the heart of Africa’s development. Health sovereignty requires investing in youth-led solutions and bringing youth at the center of decision-making and implementation.

At the 9th #RHNKPanAfricanConference2026, the @AfricaCDC Youth Programme plenary session ignited a powerful vision for youth engagement. Through the #YESHealth Strategy, young leaders are stepping up, not just as participants, but as architects of Africa’s health future.

Day3 #RHNKPanAfricanConference2026 Conversations taking place at the @AfricaCDC @AfricaCDCYouth Booth. #YESHealth

There is so much to learn at the #RHNKPanAfricanConference2026! As a #BingwaPLUA Fellow, I will be presenting my research. Thank you@AfricaCDC @AfricaCDCYouth.

Day 2 #RHNKPanAfricanConference2026 I am a presenting author. In 2025 I pitched for the #BingwaPLUS funding by @AfricaCDC @AfricaCDCYouth and won! My organization @TupaBloomCare @IANNACommunity has successfully implemented the #BloomBox in Namibia.

I am in Mombasa, Kenya for the conference as part of the @AfricaCDC @AfricaCDCYouth team. I will be presenting @IANNACommunity and @TupaBloomCare’s work in Namibia.

Happy Africa Day! Africa Day is a celebration of our shared history, our collective resilience, and the limitless potential of our people. This #AfricaDay2026, Africa CDC reaffirms its commitment to advancing a healthier, safer, and more resilient Africa. Today, we honour that legacy and continue to safeguard our future together. African Union #HealthSecurity

This #AfricaDay, we’re celebrating Africa’s incredible diversity – starting in the kitchen. @IamEstherN from Namibia joined @CheveningFCDO scholars from across Africa in sharing what dish #TastesLikeHome to them. What’s yours?

It's #AfricaDay today! Let’s Amplify Youth Power for a Healthier Continent! Today, as we rally behind the @_AfricanUnion's 2026 theme, “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems”, we look directly to our greatest asset: our #youth! Clean water and sanitation are not just infrastructure goals; they are foundational to public health and disease prevention. Through the @AfricaCDC #YESHealth Strategy, young African leaders are at the forefront of this mission. When Youth drive community action, hygiene education, and health innovation, they are turning continental strategy into real-world impact. Let's support, equip, and celebrate the young changemakers transforming health and sanitation across Africa. Happy Africa Day 2026!

6/6 The dataset is open access. Built to be cited, extended, and challenged. 📂 doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19483… @cheveningfcdo @lborolondon #MyCheveningJourney #DataSovereignty #DigitalHealth #AfricaHealth #OpenData

5/6 My call to action,two asks: → If you build digital health tools: advocate for your country's privacy laws to apply to what you build. → If you use a health app: ask where your data is stored and who governs it. You have the right to that answer. #MyCheveningJourney

4/6 Attended the Technology morning session. Loved every speaker. Spent the rest of the day finding scholars working at the exact intersection of where this project needs to go next. That is what the scholarship is for. The finding each other part.

3/6 I was placed in Politics and Global Governance. Multiple scholars asked: "Why not Health? Why not Technology?" Because data sovereignty is not a technology problem. It is a governance problem. The room was exactly right. #MyCheveningJourney

2/6 Most scholars presented their dissertations. I presented an ongoing project, a live dataset built to be used by innovators, advocates, and policymakers. That distinction mattered to me. Research that sits in an archive changes nothing. Research that moves does.

1/6 A few days late, but here is my reflection on presenting The Sovereignty Gap at #CheveningConference2026 on 15 April at @lborolondon, Here East, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Built inside the former broadcast centre of the 2012 Olympics. 🧵 #MyCheveningJourney