Rose Sakala’s Profile

Rose Sakala is an exceptional young woman who has made a significant impact in the fields of population, health, education, youth, child protection, gender, and domestic violence in Malawi.

Through her advocacy and initiatives, she has helped thousands of youths and women across the country. Rose previously served as a Research and Policy Associate at the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), contributing to another USAID-funded project called BUILD. This project aims to enhance integrated family planning, reproductive health, population, environment, and development action. While at AFIDEP, Rose also served as the Policy, Advocacy, and Stakeholder Engagement lead for the Adolescent Sexual Health Exemplars (ASHER) Project. 

Rose has worked with renowned organizations such as the Johns Hopkins University Centre for Communications Programs (JHU-CCP) and Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), focusing on ending child and forced marriages and youth engagement, respectively.

Rose has a Master’s degree in Business Administration (Public Sector Finance Management) from the Malawi Institute of Management (MIM), and a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Malawi.

Rose has received various accolades, including the Star Prize for the Future African Leaders Awards (FALA) and the Woman of Distinction Award. She has also participated in the US Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on Youth and Civic Engagement and has served as a Global Youth Engagement advisor for Plan International for six years.

Rose’s vision is to see equal access to quality sexual reproductive health rights (SRHR) services for marginalized and vulnerable young people in Malawi. She envisions a society where young people are empowered to demand high-quality services and hold key gatekeepers accountable for not meeting their expectations