Meet Stephen Ogweno, a Kenyan global public health expert, researcher, author, innovator, and social entrepreneur using health education, advocacy, research, and technology to transform public health across Africa. Stephen is the Founder of Stowelink Foundation, a youth-led public health organisation advancing health literacy, non-communicable disease prevention, mental health awareness, sexual and reproductive health education, climate and health advocacy, and community-centred public health action. He is also the Co-founder of Lifesten Health, a digital health platform promoting preventive healthcare, healthy behaviour, and early health tracking. Read on to learn more about him.
How did he start and what inspired him?
Stephen’s journey began from personal experience. Growing up with childhood obesity and other health challenges exposed him to stigma, misinformation, and the gaps many young people face when trying to access the right health information and support. Rather than allow those experiences to limit him, he turned them into a mission to ensure that more young people and communities have the knowledge, tools, and support they need to live healthier lives.
What has he achieved so far?
Through Stowelink Foundation, Stephen has contributed to public health programmes across several African countries, reaching millions of people through grassroots campaigns, digital advocacy, community health education, research, and policy engagement. His work has helped position young people as key actors in shaping the future of public health in Africa. He has also received major recognition for his work, including the WHO-AFRO Hideyo Noguchi Prize for Young African Researchers in 2022, and continues to work with local and global health actors to strengthen public health systems, especially around non-communicable diseases and preventive healthcare.
What are his plans for the project?`
Stephen plans to continue scaling preventive health solutions across Africa by expanding Stowelink Foundation’s community health campaigns, strengthening youth-led advocacy, deepening research and policy engagement, and growing Lifesten Health as a digital tool for early detection, wellness tracking, and healthy lifestyle support. His vision is to see an Africa where healthcare is not only about treatment, but also about prevention, education, innovation, and community leadership.
What obstacles has he faced and how did he overcome them?
Stephen has faced personal, financial, and systemic challenges. From overcoming the stigma attached to childhood obesity to building public health solutions with limited resources, his journey has required resilience, consistency, and courage. In his work, he has also had to make non-communicable diseases more visible in health systems where they are often under-prioritised. He has overcome these barriers through partnerships, evidence-based advocacy, storytelling, research, innovation, and a strong commitment to learning from the communities he serves.
His advice to young people
Stephen encourages young people who want to create impact to start with the problem closest to their hearts, but not to stop at passion. He believes young changemakers must study the issues they care about, listen to affected communities, build discipline, collaborate with others, and remain consistent even when progress feels slow.
For him, young people do not need to wait for permission to lead change. They can begin where they are, with what they have, and grow through learning, service, and commitment.
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