From 13–16 May 2025, over 500 delegates gathered in Windhoek, Namibia, for INTEREST 2025, Africa’s leading scientific conference on HIV treatment, prevention, and research. Among the researchers, policymakers, and implementers were two young advocates, Rhoda and Esther, who were determined to ensure that youth voices weren’t only included but also heard, respected, and acted upon.
This aligns with the mission of the UNITED! Movement, to mobilise and strengthen youth leadership in HIV and SRHR responses across Africa, championing local, youth-led solutions in prevention and care. Conferences like INTEREST are critical spaces for young leaders to translate lived realities into research, advocacy, and implementation, ensuring the HIV response is youth-centred and community-driven.
Youth-Led Research Rooted in Realities
For Rhoda Msiska, an AVAC Advocacy Fellow and Senior Programs Officer at Copper Rose Zambia, the conference was more than just data sharing; it was about aligning scientific progress with the realities of young people in Zambia. Her poster, “Characterising Key Concerns from Communities on Upcoming HIV Prevention Options,” underscored the need for prevention tools like the Dual Prevention Pill to reflect community readiness and user preferences.
“We must stop viewing prevention as a luxury add-on. These are lives we are talking about, and for some, a lifeline.”Rhoda Msiska
Senior Programs Officer at Copper Rose Zambia
Meanwhile, Esther Kamau, a youth advocate from Y+ Global, presented findings from the You(th) Care project, which addresses the systemic barriers adolescents and young people, especially adolescent girls and young women, face in accessing sexual and reproductive health information and self-care options. Her abstract, “Enhancing SRHR Advocacy and Self-Care Among Adolescents and Young People,” highlighted how youth-led advocacy can promote SRHR awareness while creating supportive environments that empower young people to take charge of their health and futures.
“When we give young people choices that respect their bodies and realities, they choose health, they choose hope.”Esther Kamau
Youth Advocate for Y+ Global
This wasn’t about showcasing innovations in a vacuum. It was about placing them in real-world systems where access is uneven, stigma persists, and youth are still left waiting.
[From left to right: Rhoda Msiska and Esther Kamau presenting their abstracts: Rhoda Msiska presenting during a special session on ‘’HIV Prevention Must Not Be Left Behind: Voices From the Frontlines’]
Turning Insights into Action
Both Rhoda and Esther engaged deeply in sessions exploring how science, policy, and community realities intersect, including reimagining PrEP delivery and community-led prevention options. They were inspired by stories like that of Tuwilika Elias, a young woman whose advocacy reversed discriminatory policies, demonstrating that lived experience can shift systems if we listen and act.
Rhoda plans to integrate lessons from INTEREST into Copper Rose Zambia’s Dual Prevention Pill rollout, ensuring community-driven demand creation and user-centred messaging. Esther aims to bridge finance and activism, advocating for sustainable, youth-led initiatives that prioritise mental health, self-care, and peer leadership.
While INTEREST 2025 opened space for youth participation, systemic barriers persisted. Poster sessions, often the primary platform for young advocates, felt rushed and marginalised, limiting visibility for youth-led innovations. Dense technical language and rigid panel structures made meaningful engagement challenging, reminding us that inclusion requires more than an invitation; it requires shared ownership, accessibility, and genuine power-sharing.
At the UNITED! Movement, we see how Rhoda’s and Esther’s participation reflects the collective mission of ensuring young people are not just present but are central to shaping HIV and SRHR responses.
Youth leadership is not about asking for permission; it is about partnership. We urge policymakers to move beyond rhetoric and share power with young people in decisions that impact their health and futures. We urge donors to fund community infrastructure and youth capacity, not just products, to ensure prevention tools reach those who need them. We encourage researchers to let community insights shape frameworks and delivery, not just findings. And we call on fellow youth advocates to keep questioning, building, and showing up. When young people stand together, informed and organised, change doesn’t just happen; it accelerates.