DEEPROOTS | COMMUNITY VISIT
A visit to six DEEPROOTS communities offered an opportunity to see how community-led HIV prevention is bringing information, support and connections to services closer to young people and the people who need them.
What does community-led HIV prevention look like in practice? For Jenny and Morag, the answer could be found in the people, conversations and community spaces that are at the heart of Youthplus’s DEEPROOTS programme.
During their visit to Uganda, Jenny and Morag joined the Youthplus team on a journey through six DEEPROOTS communities: Kulekaana, Kasenge, Kosovo, Nakulabye, Bwaise and Nsambya Kirombe.
The visits provided an opportunity to see the community environment in which DEEPROOTS operates and to engage with the work taking place through the Community Vital Information Kiosks and the wider network of community-based support.
Beyond the kiosk: meeting communities where they are
At the centre of DEEPROOTS is a simple but important idea: access to reliable health information and support should not depend on how far someone lives from a health facility or whether they feel comfortable approaching a formal service.
The Community Vital Information Kiosks are designed to make information and connections to services more accessible within the communities themselves. They provide approachable spaces where young people and other community members can seek information, ask questions and receive guidance on HIV prevention and related health and wellbeing issues.
Across Kulekaana, Kasenge, Kosovo, Nakulabye, Bwaise and Nsambya Kirombe, the visits highlighted the importance of taking services closer to people and building on the relationships and structures that already exist within communities.
The people behind the model
DEEPROOTS is not simply a network of physical kiosks. Its strength lies in the people who bring the model to life.
Peer Community Advisors play an important role in creating connections, sharing information and supporting conversations within their communities. They help make health information more approachable and provide links between community members and available services.
For Youthplus, these local relationships are central to the programme’s approach. Sustainable community health initiatives require more than infrastructure. They depend on trust, participation, local leadership and partnerships that respond to the realities people face.
The engagement with Jenny and Morag offered an opportunity to share this approach and reflect on the practical experience of implementing a community-led model across different settings.
Partnerships that strengthen community action
DEEPROOTS is implemented with support from ViiV Healthcare Positive Action. The partnership has enabled Youthplus to develop and strengthen a community-based approach to HIV prevention, with young people and grassroots communities playing an active role.
The visit also provided an opportunity to appreciate the contribution of the people and community structures that sustain the work. It reinforced the importance of partnerships that go beyond funding to support learning, local ownership and approaches that can respond to changing community needs.
Six communities, a continuing journey
From Kulekaana to Kasenge, Kosovo, Nakulabye, Bwaise and Nsambya Kirombe, the visit was a reminder that meaningful change is built through consistent engagement with people and communities.
For Youthplus, DEEPROOTS is about ensuring that young people can access information, make informed choices, seek support without stigma and connect with services that respond to their needs.
The experience of Jenny and Morag’s visit reaffirmed a principle that guides our work: stronger community health systems are built when communities are not simply reached with services, but are actively involved in shaping and sustaining them.
Youthplus appreciates Jenny and Morag for taking time to visit the communities, engage with the DEEPROOTS team and see the work at the heart of the programme.
DEEPROOTS: Putting communities at the heart of HIV prevention, health information and support.
Youthplus | Young People Active in the Community
