Network Spotlight: Saeed Ahmed

by Emily Hickner | Sep 24, 2026 | Network Spotlight Series

Written and compiled by Emily Hickner-Mantia, Operations Manager for INSPIRE

The Prevention and Treatment through a Comprehensive Care Continuum for HIV-affected Adolescents in Resource Constrained Settings – Implementation Science Network (PATC³H-IN) is made up of many passionate individuals dedicated to youth HIV care and prevention in sub-Saharan Africa. This interview with Dr. Saeed Ahmed marks the first of our Network Spotlight Series, which showcases PATC³H-IN members and the work they do.

Dr. Ahmed is an associate professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine who received the 2026 Distinguished Faculty Award. He first came to Malawi in 2006 as part of the inaugural Baylor Pediatric AIDS Corps. In 2007, he and Dr. Maria Kim launched Tingathe (meaning “together we can”), a community-based program in Malawi that utilizes Community Health Workers to improve identification and enrollment into care of HIV-infected and exposed children. Tingathe has grown from a $150,000 pilot to a $15 million program under his leadership.

As part of the PATC³H-IN, Dr. Saeed Ahmed is the principal investigator for VS4A — VITAL Start for Adolescents — a video intervention to improve retention and adherence to ART among adolescents living with HIV in Malawi. We asked Dr. Ahmed about his new role as co-chair of PATC³H-IN, the journal supplement he is leading, and his journey in global health and HIV work. Here’s what he had to say…

To start, tell us a little about yourself and your journey in global health; what drew you to this work, and eventually to PATC³H-IN?

I’m a pediatrician and global health researcher, and much of my career has focused on improving HIV care and health systems for children and adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Malawi. I first began working in Malawi almost exactly 20 years ago at a time when access to HIV treatment for children was still extremely limited. Seeing both the enormous need and what was possible when strong programs were built around patients, families, and communities really shaped the direction of my career. Over the years, my work has expanded from clinical care to implementation science, health systems, and the development and evaluation of models designed to improve access, retention, and outcomes for vulnerable populations. It was therefore very exciting for our project, VS4A, to be included in PATC³H-IN. Adolescents and young people remain one of the populations for whom we have not made enough progress, and the network brings together an extraordinary group of investigators and projects focused specifically on changing that.

You recently stepped into the role of co-chair. What does taking on this leadership position mean to you, and what are you hoping to bring to it?

It comes at a particularly exciting point in the life of the network. Many of the projects are now approaching completion of the primary data-collection phase and moving into analysis and dissemination. Over the next year, there will be an enormous amount of important work, not only within the individual research projects, but also through harmonized analyses and activities that bring together findings across the network. I’m excited to help organize and facilitate that work and, most importantly, to be useful to the clinical research centers (CRCs) and investigators doing it. I see the co-chair role as an opportunity to help create connections across projects, identify areas where the network can accomplish more collectively than any one study could accomplish alone, and make sure that the knowledge being generated ultimately reaches the people who can use it.

Adolescents and young people remain one of the populations for whom we have not made enough progress, and the network brings together an extraordinary group of investigators and projects focused specifically on changing that.

Saeed Ahmed at PATC3H Annual Meeting 2026

Dr. Saeed Ahmed at the 2026 PATC³H-IN Annual Meeting in Lagos, Nigeria.

You spearheaded the new PATC³H-IN journal supplement. What inspired it, and why did this feel like the right moment to bring it forward?

I’ve been fortunate to help lead journal supplements like this in the past, and I think they can be a very effective way of bringing a coordinated body of work together in one place. Rather than having individual papers appear separately over time, a supplement allows a network to tell a broader story, develop a common theme, and make the connections between studies much more visible. This felt like the right moment because PATC³H-IN has matured into a network with a clear identity and an important collective story to tell. This first supplement introduces the network, the major scientific questions being addressed, and some of the early work emerging from the projects. It also creates a foundation for the much larger body of findings that will follow.

Across the articles, were there emerging themes that stood out to you, or findings that genuinely surprised you?

Because this is the first supplement, many of the articles are focused on study protocols, conceptual frameworks, and early qualitative or formative work rather than final trial outcomes. In that sense, I see the supplement less as the culmination of the network’s findings and more as an introduction to the scientific landscape the network is addressing. What does stand out is how clearly the papers illustrate the complexity of improving outcomes for adolescents and young people. Clinical care is only one part of the picture. Mental health, stigma, family and peer relationships, health-system barriers, transitions in care, and the realities of young people’s everyday lives all intersect. The supplement helps define many of those challenges and, importantly, shows the range of approaches being developed to address them. There is much more to come as the studies move into their main analyses.

Who do you most hope reads this supplement? What do you hope it will spark moving forward?

I hope the supplement reaches several audiences: policymakers, implementing partners, researchers, clinicians, and, importantly, adolescents and young people themselves and the organizations that represent them. Adolescents remain an underserved population, and their outcomes still need to improve substantially. PATC³H-IN was created around the idea that we need better evidence, better interventions, and a much deeper understanding of what young people actually need from health systems. My hope is that this supplement is the first installment in a broader body of work from the network that helps move the field forward, from identifying the major barriers young people face, to demonstrating what works, to ultimately influencing policy and implementation. We have an exciting year ahead!

From Youth Voice to Youth Leadership

by Emily Hickner | Sep 21, 2026 | Engagement Core, Youth Advisory Board

Written by Aishat Adedoyin Koledowo, Youth Advisory Board Co-chair (S-ITEST) and Nomujuni Neale Natukwatsa, Youth Advisory Board Co-chair Co-chair (MUJHU)

What happens when young people are not only invited into research conversations, but are equipped to shape the conversation, translate the evidence, and lead how research reaches their peers and communities? For the INSPIRE Cross-PATC³H-IN Youth Advisory Board (YAB), 2026 has been a year of beginning to answer that question.

This year has marked an important shift in the YAB’s journey from strengthening youth participation to creating opportunities for young people to take greater ownership of research communication and knowledge translation. Guided by the principle of “building with youth, not for youth,” the YAB has moved from learning and contributing to actively creating, communicating, and sharing research.

The centre of this evolution has been youth-led research dissemination: an approach that recognizes that research does not reach its full potential when it remains within academic spaces. Evidence needs to be understood, discussed, and made relevant to the people and communities it is intended to serve.

YAB members gather in person for the first time at the pre-meeting workshop in Lagos, Nigeria.

Building the Skills to Lead

The journey began with capacity building.

Throughout the year, YAB members strengthened their skills in research writing, storytelling, blogging, digital communication, and translating complex research findings into language and formats that young people can understand and connect with. These experiences were not simply about acquiring new skills; they created the foundation for members to participate more meaningfully in the research process.

As confidence grew, so did the opportunities to contribute.

For Pimer Clare, a YAB member from MUJHU, the experience has changed how she sees her place within research, “Being part of the YAB and youth-led dissemination has helped me see myself as an active partner in research, representing young people’s voices and ensuring findings reach and benefit our communities.”

That shift from being a recipient of research to seeing oneself as an active partner became an important thread throughout the YAB’s work in 2026.

From Learning to Co-Creating

With this foundation in place, the YAB began developing a Youth-Led Research Dissemination Framework, bringing greater structure to the question of how young people can work alongside researchers to communicate HIV implementation science.

The framework is rooted in collaboration, co-creation, accessibility, and youth leadership. Rather than positioning young people at the end of the research process, it creates space for them to contribute to decisions about how findings are translated, which messages are prioritized, what formats are most accessible, and how research can be communicated in ways that resonate with young audiences.

For Beene Chitempa of ZAIMARA, this experience reinforced the importance of closing the gap between research participation and access to research knowledge, “It (being a YAB member) has made me realize that beyond participating in research, we must intentionally share findings with participants and communities, ensuring research knowledge reaches those who contributed to it.”

YAB Members at the pre-meeting workshop meeting and Annual Meeting in Lagos.

Putting the Approach into Practice in Lagos

Ideas started to take shape in a new way during the PATC³H-IN Annual Meeting in Lagos, Nigeria, from May 4–7, 2026.

For the first time, YAB members came together in person for a dedicated pre-meeting workshop focused on youth-led research dissemination. The workshop provided space to test ideas, exchange perspectives, receive feedback, and think through how research findings could be transformed into engaging and accessible content for young people.

The conversation continued at the Annual Meeting, where the YAB Co-Chairs — Aishat Adedoyin Koledowo (S-ITEST, Nigeria) and Nomujuni Natukwatsa (MUJHU, Uganda) — presented “Youth Advisory Board: Reality Check & Translation.” The presentation highlighted the evolving contributions of YAB members across manuscripts, abstracts, social media, dissemination planning, and implementation science.

Lagos became more than a meeting point. It became a bridge between capacity building and application, giving YAB members an opportunity to move from discussing youth-led dissemination to actively putting it into practice.

Turning Evidence into Stories

Following the Annual Meeting, the YAB moved from planning to production. Members worked with researchers to translate complex research findings into short, accessible videos. They developed key messages and video scripts, produced the videos, and worked alongside researchers to ensure that scientific findings remained accurate while becoming easier for broader audiences to understand and engage with.

This was a significant moment in the YAB’s journey.

Young people were no longer simply advising on what researchers should consider. They were creating the content through which research could be understood and shared.

For Hannah Nancy Nkhoma of VS4A, Malawi, the experience has strengthened both her confidence and her understanding of what youth participation can look like: “Being part of YAB and youth-led dissemination has shown me that young people can shape research, and it has also strengthened my confidence that I can integrate youth voices into meaningful research practice.”

The videos became a practical expression of the belief that research should be translated with young people, rather than simply translated for them.

Looking Beyond Production to Reach

As the videos were shared, the YAB began looking beyond the question of whether content had been produced to a more important question: what difference might different dissemination approaches make to the visibility and reach of research?

Between May 26 and July 17, 2026, manuscripts with video promotion recorded 183 abstract views compared with 61 for manuscripts without video promotion. Promotion also led to 16 full-text downloads compared with 10. The difference was also visible in citation counts. Between May 26 and August 22, 2026, manuscripts with video promotion recorded 46 citations compared with 15 for manuscripts without video promotion.

These are observed differences between manuscripts with and without video promotion and do not, on their own, establish that video promotion caused the higher levels of engagement or citations. Nevertheless, the findings provide an important opportunity for the YAB and research teams to explore how creative, youth-led approaches can contribute to making research more visible and accessible.

For the YAB, measurement is becoming part of the dissemination process itself, helping the team understand what reaches audiences, how they engage, and what can be improved.

Taking Youth Leadership into Research Spaces

The YAB’s growing role has not been limited to digital dissemination. Engagement with the Scientific Leadership Committee (SLC) and External Research and Scientific Board (ERSB) provided opportunities for YAB members to share their progress, receive feedback, and demonstrate how youth-led dissemination can strengthen the relationship between research and the communities it seeks to serve.

The YAB also carried its voice beyond PATC³H-IN. At AIDS 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, YAB representation gave voice to youth perspectives on international conversations on HIV, health research, and meaningful youth engagement, including participation in youth co-creation spaces.

The YAB’s contribution to the WHO/TDR Practical Youth Co-Creation Guide launched in April, further reflected its commitment to meaningful participation. The guide reinforces the importance of involving young people from the beginning of research and programme processing not bringing them in only after the key decisions have already been made.

Together, these experiences are helping redefine what youth leadership can look like within research.

Mba Chinedu Ude of iCARE+ Nigeria reflected, “Being part of YAB has shifted my focus to amplifying youth voices in research. I am more intentional about inclusivity and impact now, and it has made me see research as a tool for youth empowerment, not just data collection. Now I focus on amplifying voices and driving change.”

From Youth Voice to Youth Leadership

The YAB’s journey in 2026 has ultimately been about more than dissemination. It has been about transformation. Transformation in how young people see themselves within research. Transformation in how researchers and young people collaborate. And transformation in how evidence can move from academic publications into conversations, platforms, and communities where it can be widely understood and utilized.

The next phase for YAB will build on this foundation by strengthening youth-led research products, expanding collaboration between YAB members and researchers, developing digital storytelling and communication skills, documenting lessons, and using engagement data to refine future dissemination approaches.

The goal is not simply to create more content. It is to continue creating the skills, structures, platforms, and opportunities that allow young people to meaningfully shape research and lead how knowledge is communicated.

Because significant youth engagement is not only about giving young people a seat at the table. It is about ensuring they have the skills to contribute, the space to co-create, the confidence to lead, and the opportunity to see their ideas move beyond the table and into action.

From youth voice to youth leadership, 2026 has been a year of putting that principle into practice and the journey is only beginning.

When Rio Came Together to Co-Create: Youth, Health, and Research at AIDS 2026 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

by Emily Hickner | Sep 2, 2026 | Engagement Core, Youth Advisory Board

Written by Nomujuni Neale Natukwatsa, INSPIRE Youth Advisory Board Co-Chair

What happens when young people, researchers, health practitioners and community stakeholders from different countries, institutions and lived experiences come together in one room not simply to talk about young people, but to co-create with them?

That was the spirit of the Youth Co-creation for Health Workshop held at the Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca at Fiocruz Manguinhos ahead of AIDS 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The workshop brought together participants representing a diverse range of organisations and institutions, including CEDAPS, Baylor-Botswana, University of Washington, Wake Forest University, Rio Youth Force, Decola Cria/GOYN Rio de Janeiro, Fiocruz, RNAJVHA, ACS, SZNDIR, UNICEF, INT EVOLUX and UNC, among others. The diversity extended beyond institutional affiliations. With at least 70% of participants speaking Portuguese, the workshop created a valuable bridge between the local youth community in Rio and the international AIDS 2026 community.

This diversity was important. It meant that conversations about youth participation were not happening from a single perspective. Young people, researchers, community organisations, academic institutions and global health partners brought different experiences and ways of understanding the challenges facing young people in health.

Group photo during the Rio Youth Co-creation Workshop.

From participation to partnership

The workshop was built around the Youth Co-creation for Health: Practical Guide, developed by SESH in partnership with UNICEF and TDR. The guide approaches youth co-creation as an iterative process in which young people and researchers work together while deliberately recognising and addressing power imbalances.

The afternoon began with introductions to the practical guide, reflections celebrating Rio’s youth, an exploration of Fiocruz’s role in the local youth community, and a discussion on inclusion. The discussion included the question of what it takes to ensure that young people dealing with systematic stigma are not left behind. And a panel brought together perspectives from WHO, CEDAPS, Decola Cria, RNAJVHA, and Fiocruz, creating space for dialogue between local and international experiences.

But the heart of the workshop was the co-creation activity.

Participants worked in small groups of six to eight, bringing young people and adults together to explore two practical questions. The first question asked how we might imagine a future where young people facing systemic stigma — including those living with HIV, disabilities, and other conditions — are not discriminated against or excluded from work. The second question challenged participants to think creatively about how the Youth Co-creation Practical Guide could be disseminated in different settings with young people taking the lead.

Participants were encouraged to pay attention to power imbalances, create space for young people’s contributions, generate ideas together, and identify their strongest proposals before sharing them with the wider group. This was co-creation in practice. Not a presentation about youth participation, but a room where people had to listen, negotiate, create, and make decisions together.

When the conversation continued beyond Fiocruz

One of the most memorable aspects of the workshop was that the conversation did not end when the formal programme ended. Later that evening, participants gathered for dinner, creating an informal space to continue exchanging experiences, challenge ideas, build friendships, and explore opportunities for future collaboration. For a workshop centered on relationships and shared power, this informal continuation mattered. It allowed people to connect beyond their institutional roles and discover the experiences and motivations behind the work.

The group enjoying a post-workshop dinner.

Why this matters for INSPIRE

The Rio workshop demonstrated an important principle; meaningful youth engagement is not about simply creating opportunities for young people to participate. It is about creating processes where young people can influence the questions, contribute their knowledge and lived experiences, shape solutions, and help determine what success looks like.

It also demonstrated the value of bringing different communities together. Local youth organisations and community networks. Researchers and universities. Global health institutions and international partners. Young people and adults. Different perspectives, brought into the same space, can challenge assumptions and create possibilities that may not emerge when people work in isolation.

This workshop offered a practical example of what youth co-creation can look like when diversity is treated as an asset rather than a complication.

The lesson from Rio is simple. Young people should not simply be invited to the table. They should help shape what is on it.

And the co-creation continues.

Breaking Language Barriers: A Bilingual Approach to HIV Information

by Emily Hickner | Aug 17, 2026 | INSPIRE Designathon, Learning Core

Written by Emily Hickner-Mantia, Operations Manager for INSPIRE

In Spring 2025, the Youth Against HIV was one of ten teams selected out of hundreds to bring their vision to life through the INSPIRE Designathon. We appreciated their thoughtful approach to tackling widespread misconceptions about HIV and limited access to prevention, testing and treatment services in Nigeria’s Katsina State. They recognized three major obstacles — cultural norms, language barriers and stigma — and had an insightful approach to addressing them through peer education, culturally relevant materials, and community partnerships. This approach includes the development of educational materials in both English and Hausa, the primary language of Katsina State.

The result of the team’s hard work over the past year is the HIV Handbook for Everyone: Understanding, Preventing, and Living with HIV, a colorful and eye-catching handbook written in clear, simple language and available in both English and Hausa. It is an uncomplicated guide to what young people need to know: what HIV is, how to protect themselves, where to get tested, and how those living with HIV can thrive.

We asked Youth Against HIV about their process, how they plan to distribute the handbooks, and what’s next for the publication. Read on to learn what they had to say.

Youth Against HIV consists of Favour Christiana Ogbuagu, Abubakar Ismail Muhammad, Makiyyah Sulaiman Muhammad, and Abdulmalik Ya’u.

HIV Handbook for Everyone: Understanding, Preventing, and Living with HIV available in English and in Hausa.

Click on a cover image to view and download the handbook.

Tell us what inspired you to create the HIV Handbook for Everyone. What is the importance of releasing it in both English and Hausa?

Nigeria continues to carry one of the highest HIV burdens globally, and this burden is compounded by persistently low health literacy across many communities. In practice, this means a significant portion of the population, often those already most socially and economically vulnerable, has limited or no access to accurate, evidence based information about HIV. Working closely within these communities made this gap difficult to ignore.

It became clear to us that health information, when made accessible and culturally grounded, can function as a genuine public health intervention in its own right.

This understanding was the foundation for developing a toolkit specifically designed to reach populations that conventional health communication has historically underserved.

How did you decide what you would include in the handbook? How did you ensure that the handbook included evidence-based information on HIV while being culturally appropriate?

Our starting point was foundational knowledge, an accurate, accessible explanation of what HIV is, how it is transmitted, and how transmission can be prevented. We approached this deliberately, as a strong grasp of the fundamentals remains the most reliable determinant of protective behavior; a reader who leaves with a clear, correct understanding of transmission and prevention has already gained something of real public health value. Building on this foundation, we incorporated emerging evidence on Lenacapavir based PrEP (LEN-PrEP), reflecting our commitment to keeping the handbook aligned with current advances in HIV prevention science rather than static or outdated guidance. Throughout the development process, we were equally attentive to how this information was communicated.

Content was reviewed and framed to reflect the language, lived experience, and cultural context of the communities we serve, so that the material reads as credible and relevant rather than clinical or externally imposed.

Who are you working with to disseminate this handbook? Are there community groups, medical facilities or peer navigators involved?

Dissemination has been a collaborative undertaking. We work with medical students trained as peer navigators across Kano State, who serve as trusted, community embedded intermediaries capable of contextualizing the material and addressing questions directly. This is complemented by partnerships with medical facilities, which allow the handbook to function not merely as a standalone resource but as a bridge into the formal health system, connecting readers to testing, counseling, and treatment services when needed.

What are the gaps in HIV education, prevention and treatment that you hope to help tackle with this handbook?

A central challenge in HIV response remains the persistence of misinformation and stigma, which often present a greater barrier to care seeking than the disease itself. Through this handbook, we aim to address prevailing myths, strengthen public understanding of transmission and prevention, and provide clear guidance on when and where to seek clinical care. Our broader objective is to narrow the distance between public perception of HIV and the current scientific understanding of it.

Do you have plans to measure the impact of disseminating this handbook? Any plans to expand the project to other languages or provide updated guides in the future as new HIV prevention and treatment technologies become available?

Yes. This handbook is conceived as part of a sustained, iterative initiative under Youth Against HIV rather than a single output. We intend to evaluate its reach and effectiveness over time, and, contingent on further funding, to extend it into additional Nigerian languages, a meaningful undertaking given the country’s linguistic diversity, with well over 500 languages spoken nationally. We are equally committed to revising the handbook’s content as new prevention and treatment technologies emerge, ensuring it remains a living, evidence based resource rather than a fixed document.

Access the handbook in English >>

Access the handbook in Hausa >>

Finding the Perfect Match: How Speed Dating Sparked Cross-PATC3H-IN Collaborations

by Emily Hickner | Jul 21, 2026 | Engagement Core, Learning Core, Methods Core

Written by Emily Hickner-Mantia, Operations Manager for INSPIRE

Speed dating for singles may have gone out of style with the rise of dating apps but INSPIRE still sees its value as a matchmaking process for research collaborations. As the implementation science coordinating center for PATC³H-IN, INSPIRE seeks to build synergy through cultivating and supporting collaboration across the network. To leverage shared knowledge and adapt evidence-based practices across new settings, we facilitated a “speed dating” activity for PATC³H-IN clinical research centers at the PATC³H-IN Annual Meeting in Lagos, Nigeria (held 5-7 May 2006).

Members from the eight clinical research centers were paired for three 20-minute rounds of “speed dates.” Instead of discussing hobbies or life goals, these speed daters shared innovative ideas for research collaboration. The ultimate goal was for CRCs to team up — with both early career researchers and more senior researchers represented — to develop new pilot research ideas. The following day, teams pitched their ideas for collaboration in front of the meeting attendees and a panel of judges. Each team had three minutes to present fresh, creative solutions that foster collaboration.

We concluded the annual meeting by announcing the Judge’s Choice and Audience’s Choice awards. As the football (or soccer for the Americans) anthem “Stand Up (For the Champions)” played, the audience erupted in celebration when Synergizing PrEP Delivery took home Judge’s Choice and BriDD won Audience’s Choice. Both winning teams received pilot funding to launch their projects over the next year, while the five remaining partnerships were awarded smaller seed grants to explore their concepts.

Attendees dance to “Stand Up (For the Champions)” as the winners are announced.

Since the PATC³H-IN Annual Meeting, teams have participated in INSPIRE’s Project Development Bootcamp to hone their research designs, develop community needs assessments, and prepare IRB submissions. Teams will continue to receive coaching and training over the course of the next year as they work to pilot their project ideas.

Read on to learn about each cross-PATC³H-IN team’s pitch.

About the Pitches

Please note that these are the ideas that were pitched at the annual meeting. Projects will be refined and adapted for cost and feasibility.

Synergizing PrEP Delivery | Judge’s Choice

Monica Getahun, Mackfallen Anasel , Asiphas Owaraganise

This strategic cross- CRC collaboration between MWOTAJI and MU-JHU synergizes HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery models across East Africa. The initiative addresses key landscape divergence: while MWOTAJI excels in private-sector, pharmacy-based PrEP delivery models in Tanzania, MU-JHU has encountered reluctance toward pharmacy delivery from Uganda’s Ministry of Health and local stakeholders. Conversely, MU-JHU brings established expertise in community-based models and Long-Acting Injectable (LAI) PrEP. To bridge these gaps, the collaboration leverages MWOTAJI’s data to launch a proof-of-concept pilot in 2–3 Ugandan pharmacies, while MU-JHU facilitates learning workshops to prepare Tanzania for its national LAI-PrEP rollout scheduled for January 2027.

The overarching goal of this cross-pollination is to eliminate research silos, strengthen consortium unity, and provide evidence-based advocacy to inform national health strategies in both countries.

Team Synergizing PrEP Delivery poses after their pitch.

BriDD | Audience’s Choice

Benjamin Kule, Eric Aniekan, George Goji, Rodgers Katwesigye

Benjamin Kule presenting the pitch for Team BriDD.

Bridging Design and Delivery (BriDD) is a real-time, youth-centered HIV knowledge exchange initiative developed through a collaboration between iCARE Plus and MU-JHU. While peer navigation is a core component across HIV interventions, execution varies widely across clinical research centers without a shared framework for recruitment, outreach, trust-building, or retention. By combining MU-JHU’s expertise in implementation science with iCARE Plus’s scalable mHealth and peer-navigation systems, the project aims to establish a cross-CRC learning collaboration to standardize and scale effective peer navigation for diverse adolescent and young adult populations.

Through meetings across various communication platforms involving peer navigators, healthcare workers, and community leaders, the team will implement Plan–Do–Study–Act cycles to evaluate and refine practices. Ultimately, the project expects to produce a practical Peer Navigation Best Practices Toolkit for broader use.

RISE-UP

Abdulhammed Babatunde, Kelechi Chima, Abayomi Aka, Samuel Orok

RISE-UP is a collaborative project in Nigeria between S-ITEST and RISE aimed at bridging the gap between community-based and digital HIV prevention tools for adolescents and young adults (AYA). While S-ITEST brings a community-rooted model spanning 18 Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), and RISE offers digital mHealth expertise, RISE-UP combines both to create a digitally amplified, community-embedded model. The initiative seeks to adapt the RISE mobile app using co-design methods to include general and authorization-gated key population forums, non-health engaging content (such as skills and entertainment), and integrated mental health support into S-ITEST’s existing “nurturer-led” CBO structure.

The project will deploy the adapted app across six CBO sites in Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria. Trained CBO nurturers will act as digital navigators, providing tablet access during group sessions for youth without personal smartphones. Using a 12-week pilot, the study will measure primary outcomes including app feature engagement, HIV self-testing uptake, PrEP referrals, and mental health service utilization while evaluating community drivers and barriers to sustained digital engagement.

Team ZamTest

Aishat Adedoyin Koledowo, Godswill Nwoha, Lateef Akeem Blessing, Gift Adelaja, Stella Chiyonga

Team ZamTest’s proposes to integrate mental health services into existing HIV/STI care through a collaborative mother-daughter dyadic model between S-ITEST (Nigeria) and ZAIMARA (Zambia). The initiative combines S-ITEST’s extensive network of community-based organizations and peer support infrastructure across Nigeria with ZAIMARA’s proven intergenerational dyad framework and mental health-embedded curriculum. By combining these strengths, the teams seek to test a novel, two-country approach that delivers mental health screening, brief counseling, and referrals alongside HIV/STI information and PrEP discussions.

The project timeline spans initial protocol development and tool adaptation, pilot implementation, and data analysis with reporting. Key primary endpoints focus on measuring the feasibility, acceptability, screening coverage, service linkage, and mental health symptom reduction within each dyad delivery channel, alongside evaluating HIV/STI testing and PrEP uptake among adolescent girls and young women.

The Influencers

Anele Zulu, Raine Renatus, Jackie Colonery, Yolanda Mayman, Charné Petinger

The Influencers is a collaborative, youth-led activations campaign between the ATTUNE and MWOTAJI CRCs to transform youth culture into an interactive HIV engagement platform. Aimed at young people aged 15 to 24, the initiative combines peer navigation, music culture, and digital storytelling to boost HIV awareness, prevention literacy, stigma reduction, and treatment engagement. The campaign centers on launching live cultural/music events led by youth ambassadors and peer navigators, which then seed a youth-designed TikTok challenge where participants create short-form content around key HIV health modules.

By leveraging social media and live events, the project seeks to move CRCs out of isolated silos to share ideas, identify commonalities, and foster a deeper understanding of youth attitudes toward accessing HIV care.

IMARA-HMP

Beene Chitempa, Olawole Ayorinde, Tukiya Kanguya, Collins Obi, Oluwatayo Damilola

IMARA-HMP is a digital platform designed to bridge communication between adolescents and caregivers while combining sexual and reproductive health, mental health, substance use support, and emotional wellbeing. Addressing the gap in existing digital interventions—which often silo youth groups and exclude caregivers—IMARA-HMP provides an inclusive, adaptive ecosystem. Grounded in collaboration between ZAIMARA and RISE, the initiative utilizes an AI-Guided Conversation Coach, personalized pathways, mood tracking, depression screenings, and dual-user caregiver-adolescent profile syncing to facilitate open, non-judgmental dialogue around sensitive topics.

The project employs the ADAPT-ITT framework to adapt the platform across diverse youth demographics and aims to evaluate its feasibility, acceptability, and impact on family communication skills in Zambia and Nigeria. IMARA-HMP delivers a cost-effective, culturally relevant solution that strengthens family dynamics and adolescent health outcomes.

VIDA

Mwamba Mwenge, Hannah Nancy Nkhoma, Asima U. Kapalepale

Video Intervention for Daughters’ Adherence & prevention (VIDA) is a joint initiative between VS4A and ZAIMARA designed to leverage family support for adolescent girls across the HIV care continuum. Answering the World Health Organization’s 2024 call for combined prevention, treatment, and care programming, VIDA provides a single, HIV-status neutral framework that adapts to both HIV-negative and HIV-positive adolescent girls. The project brings together complementary strengths by combining ZAIMARA’s rigorous communication demonstrations with VS4A’s scalable, engaging video delivery into one efficient, cost-effective model.

The initiative involves co-creation workshops that produce a unified video library and training curriculum, branching into two distinct tracks following HIV testing: a Prevention Track focusing on healthy relationships, condom use, HIV testing, and mental health screening/referral and an Adherence Track focusing on family pill reminders, clinic visits, adherence barrier management, and mental health support.

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