Translating Demographic Potential into Human Development: An Innovative Initiative of YUWA- JOSH on National Youth Building in India

Abstract

India’s demographic dividend presents a time-bound opportunity where investments in youth health and wellness can decisively influence human development outcomes and long-term economic growth. Young people increasingly face multidimensional vulnerabilities including mental health challenges, lifestyle-related morbidities, substance use, social stressors and elevated suicide risk. While global initiatives such as the Global Youth Wellbeing Index, UNICEF’s Youth-led Action Initiative and the WHO Youth Council and national frameworks including the National Youth Policy 2025, National Education Policy 2020 and Supreme Court guidelines on student suicide prevention underscore the urgency of holistic youth development, structured and preventive wellness models at the institutional grassroots level remain limited. YUWA-JOSH (Youth Upliftment and Wellness through Awareness: A Journey towards Optimism, Strength and Harmony), implemented by the Social Outreach Cell, AIIMS Rishikesh, offers an innovative, university-based, multidimensional youth wellness framework. The programme conceptualises health beyond the absence of disease and assesses wellness across physical, mental, social, spiritual, occupational and financial domains. To date, YUWA-JOSH has reached over 5,000 youth across universities and educational institutions and demonstrated feasibility and acceptability in diverse academic settings. The model provides a scalable, multi-pronged framework for embedding university health and wellness ecosystems aligned with national priorities for youth empowerment and sustainable development.