Ogweno Stephen
The Leadership in Advocacy and Communications (LAC) programme by the World Heart Federation has been pivotal in equipping me with the advanced skills necessary to translate public health narratives into powerful tools for advocacy. Through its in-depth training, and global peer exchange, the programme refined not only my understanding of cardiovascular disease prevention but also my ability to lead, communicate, and influence policy at multiple levels. These learnings have been instrumental in shaping and expanding the scope, impact, and depth of my project on NCD advocacy through storytelling and digital health.
A key outcome of this project has been the successful production and dissemination of Season 4 and Season 5 of the Africa NCD Champions Podcast,an initiative that uses storytelling to humanize and demystify cardiovascular health and NCDs. Season 4 featured 10 episodes showcasing digital health advocates, focusing on innovative public health communication approaches. With over 200 monthly listeners, the season fostered a sustained, evidence-based dialogue around cardiovascular disease prevention.
Season 5 has adopted a community-centered lens, documenting the work of youth health champions in Nairobi’s informal settlements:Kibera and Mathare. These episodes (21 planned, with 5 already released) highlight how theatre, music, peer education, and digital platforms are being used to increase NCD literacy and referral uptake at the grassroots level. The programme’s training on persuasive communication has been directly applicable in curating these episodes, ensuring each story is anchored in local realities while pointing to larger systemic gaps.
Informed by the LAC training on campaign design and impact measurement, I led a successful May Measurement Month cardiovascular screening and awareness campaign in Githurai, Kenya. Over four weeks, the campaign screened 1,000 individuals and delivered educational sessions to over 5,000 community members. Utilizing sports as a mobilization strategy, the campaign brought healthcare closer to underserved populations by setting up screening stations directly on football pitches. This creative and context-sensitive approach is a direct result of the leadership insights gained during the LAC programme, particularly on engaging hard-to-reach populations.
In collaboration with local and national stakeholders, I contributed to sustained advocacy efforts that resulted in a policy shift raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 21. This milestone is especially significant given the strong links between alcohol use and elevated cardiovascular risk. The LAC programme’s policy influence topic helped refine our advocacy strategy, enabling us to frame alcohol harm not merely as a social issue but as a cardiovascular emergency with long-term health system implications.
Throughout the year, I applied the LAC programme’s emphasis on political agenda-setting and health diplomacy in several high-level forums. I contributed to and presented at:
The 4th Global NCD Alliance Forum, where I shared insights on lived experience and community-level cardiovascular health responses.
The European Congress on Obesity, advocating for recognition of obesity as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
The World Heart Summit, where I participated in two expert panels, advocating for policy coherence and urgency ahead of the 4th UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs.
In each of these engagements, the leadership and communication techniques acquired through the LAC programme enabled me to craft compelling narratives backed by data, position community insights as essential evidence, and build transnational coalitions for action.
The LAC programme has significantly advanced my capacity to lead cardiovascular health advocacy in Africa by combining theory with action. The structured modules on persuasive communication, political advocacy, and evidence-informed campaigning directly enhanced the implementation of my project, resulting in measurable policy shifts, increased community reach, and improved digital engagement. As NCDs continue to rise globally, such programmes are not only timely but necessary to ensure that advocacy is as strategic, informed, and impactful as possible.