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Success Story

Photo: USAID/Kim Wylie

Excited youth head to an awards ceremony in Morogoro that recognized youth efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. “Be responsible and protect yourselves from HIV/AIDS so that you can you can grow to be an old person like me!” said General Lupogo, the chairman of Tanzania’s AIDS Commission at a USAID-sponsored awards ceremony.

Around the world, the number of youth infected with HIV or AIDS is on the rise. Together with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, USAID is working to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, especially in places like Tanzania, where 60 percent of new infections occur among youth.

As part of its program in Tanzania, USAID set up a competition to recognize groups that stood out in spreading awareness of HIV/AIDS. These groups had led initiatives including: holding a decision-making skills workshop for out-of-school youth; starting youth clubs and parenting networks in local factories; launching sports competitions for high school students; and providing voluntary HIV/AIDS counseling and testing services. After a rigorous competition, the winners were selected and awarded a total of $440,000 to be used in projects for the upcoming year.

The awards ceremony took place in a rain-soaked soccer stadium at the base of Tanzania’s Uluguru Mountain range in Morogoro Region and included skits, local dances, music, and speeches from high-level officials. But the most effective messages conveyed that morning were those delivered by the youth themselves. Met with erupting roars of approval from the audience, youth rappers threw themselves before the crowd, boogying in unison while shouting messages of abstinence, care, protection, and stigma reduction. During one performance, youth dressed in traditional tribal clothing speared an actor representing HIV/AIDS to the ground, obliterating AIDS from existence.

Last year’s winners also attended and reported on their results. Using the prize money, one group improved capacity to speak openly about sexual issues and sexually transmitted diseases, while another group encouraged Muslim religious leaders to use a “life skills” curriculum. A third group taught how to use theater to convey behavior change messages, and fourth held a workshop demonstrating how a national HIV/AIDS curriculum could be used in schools. Encouraging innovation and community outreach, winners of USAID’s competition are spreading messages of prevention that are keeping Tanzania’s youth safer.

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