Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to knowledge and theory building in youth empowerment and entrepreneurship development. Design/methodology/approach This paper critically examines the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWiN) programme and its relevance as a youth economic empowerment programme through the lens of the UNDP Youth Strategy entry points for promoting economic empowerment of youth and extant literature on critical youth empowerment using participatory development theories. Findings While YouWiN is a significant intervention towards entrepreneurship development, it presents some flaws and limitations in the design and implementation process, which may challenge sustainable economic development. Hence, there is a need to explore the millennials empowerment paradigm in light of three key complementary action-oriented approaches to youth entrepreneurship development. Originality/value This paper proposes three key complementary action-oriented approaches to youth entrepreneurship policy/programme design, implementation and evaluation for the multilateral agencies, private and voluntary sectors. These are in the form of facilitating participatory engagement and diversity, managing drivers (push/pull factors) of entrepreneurship, and ensuring access to enablers/support. There is the need for further debate and critical inputs to improve theory building towards a normative framework in youth empowerment and entrepreneurship. This contributes to ending poverty, and promoting intergenerational equity and sustainable development.

Purpose This paper aims to focus on management-led intervention strategies aimed at achieving stable mental well-being among academic staff in higher education institutions (HEIs) by reviewing and synthesising existing literature on varying intervention strategies to managing workplace stress and improving mental health. Design/methodology/approach Twenty-two peer-reviewed articles were identified through databases (PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Business source complete, Academic search complete) and the application of the PRISMA guideline. A quality check was carried out on the selected articles, and a data extraction table was developed to aid the discussion. Findings Although the awareness of mental health is a global issue, there was minimal research evidence in managing stress and mental health among academic staff in HEIs through increased university management involvement. Most HEIs were more focused on corporatisation and student satisfaction while unconsciously neglecting its impact on the well-being of academic staff even though universities’ management portray staff welfare as priority. Research limitations/implications There is limited information measuring the outcome of various management-led mental well-being strategies in HEIs. Further research applying more robust study design rather beyond self-reported questionnaires and similar study designs is needed in this area. Practical implications Establishing routine mental health assessment, effective communication, continuous promotion of existing and available support is imminent to improve the mental well-being of academic staff by HEIs management. Originality/value This is the first systematic review that describes and synthesises the various mental health triggers, including workplace stressors, that affect academic staff in higher education institutions (HEIs) and summarises various possible management intervention strategies.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have emerged as a public health issue of concern in Nigeria. The massive increase in tobacco use amongst different population groups is a common NCDs risk factor. To this effect, the National Tobacco Control Act (NTCA) was enacted following the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). This article conducts a health policy agenda-setting analysis of the NTCA using the Kingdon’s multiple streams model and analyses its implementation using the Principal-Agent theory. The purposive and snowballing sampling methods were used to select and review relevant peer-review literature. Other data sources included gray literature, government reports, Non-Governmental Organization briefs and media resources. Though NTCA conforms to WHO FCTC, Nigeria only domesticated her obligation to this framework legislatively while the executive and administrative measures were found lacking. The challenges and gaps identified in the NTCA implementation include; revision of textual health warnings and lack of pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs, poor taxation, and the National Tobacco Control Commission’s (NTCC) lack of regulatory autonomy, hence, the poor policy implementation reported in this article. To effectively implement NTCA, a review of textual warnings, enforcement of pictorial warnings, regulatory autonomy of the NTCC and review of the tobacco taxation are suggested to help in the prevention and control of NCDs.

SUMMARY This briefing contributes to the debate on education and inequalities in the era of neoliberal globalisation, exploring the extent to which conditional cash transfer (CCT) expands the choices and potentials of children from poor households using the critical lens of the capability approach. It argues that the effectiveness of the CCT programme in mitigating the effects of neoliberal policies in education and addressing inequalities in and through education has been limited, highlighting the implications for education and sustainable development.

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