Each year, the Youth Hub of IAS – the International AIDS Society – supports five Young Leaders with capacity building and seed grants of USD 10,000 to scale up HIV-related innovation projects that respond to a need for young people living with and affected by HIV. Meet a Young Leader who has completed the programme and hear about how it has affected them personally.
“The Youth Hub Seed Grant Programme not only strengthened my skills in project management, advocacy and stakeholder engagement, but also reinforced the power of grassroots-driven solutions in addressing systemic health challenges.”
Goodness Odey, Nigeria, Class of 2024
Being a Youth Hub seed grantee has been transformative, amplifying my impact on advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for young people in rural Gambia. Through the Gambia SHE Project, we empowered 100 young mothers with comprehensive SRHR education and trained 24 healthcare workers in youth-friendly HIV service delivery. We engaged over 600 community members across 15 communities in dialogues that challenged harmful socio-cultural norms, leading to community-led commitments towards gender equality, SRHR access and HIV stigma reduction. A rewarding outcome was seeing young mothers evolve into SRHR champions, advocating for their peers and fostering lasting change in their communities. The Youth Hub Seed Grant Programme not only strengthened my skills in project management, advocacy and stakeholder engagement, but also reinforced the power of grassroots-driven solutions in addressing systemic health challenges. This has confirmed my passion for community-centred policy advocacy and sustainable health systems strengthening.
Since completing the programme, I have focused on scaling the impact of the Gambia SHE Project beyond the initial 15 communities, as well as explored opportunities to implement interventions in rural communities in Nigeria. Recognizing the systemic barriers young mothers face in accessing SRHR services, I have been actively engaging with stakeholders, seeking strategic partnerships and funding opportunities to sustain and expand our work. Additionally, I have been working on publishing the findings from my research, aiming to strengthen the evidence base for policies and practices that address the intersection of health and social inequities among marginalized young mothers vulnerable to HIV. This research sheds light on such issues as community-centred approaches to the HIV response, gendered health inequities and limited SRHR access, offering data-driven recommendations for more inclusive healthcare systems. Furthermore, I continue to engage in policy advocacy, leveraging insights from our community dialogues and capacity-building initiatives to push for youth-friendly health services at local and regional levels.