“Test. Protect. Live Free”
The Red Ribbon Project is a flagship HIV/AIDS Awareness, Education, and Prevention initiative by Apnom Youth Organisation in Uganda. Symbolized by the iconic red ribbon of global HIV solidarity, this program is dedicated to equipping young people with the knowledge, tools, and platforms they need to protect themselves, support one another, and become champions of change in the fight against HIV/AIDS and its sister infections—such as Tuberculosis (TB) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
This youth-centered movement integrates school-based education, street-level outreach, peer-led mentorship, music, arts, testing services, and community-driven awareness campaigns to break the silence, fight stigma, and promote healthy, informed lifestyles among Ugandan youth.
A generation of young Ugandans free from the burden of HIV and empowered with knowledge, compassion, and responsibility to shape a healthier future.
To prevent the spread of HIV and related infections through innovative, youth-led education, accessible testing, stigma-free support networks, and empowering platforms for awareness and behavior change across Uganda.
Increase HIV/TB Awareness among youth through creative, relatable, and localized education strategies.
Normalize HIV Testing by making services mobile, youth-friendly, and stigma-free.
Reduce Stigma associated with HIV and TB through open dialogue, peer mentorship, and cultural engagement.
Empower HIV+ Youth through support systems that encourage treatment adherence and mental well-being.
Reach High-Risk Youth Networks with targeted prevention and education efforts.
Mobilize Communities to take collective action toward eliminating HIV among adolescents and young adults.
Red Ribbon Peer Educators Network
A nationwide network of trained youth ambassadors and peer educators who lead community conversations, school dialogues, and digital campaigns focused on HIV/TB prevention, safe sex, and stigma reduction. These ambassadors become role models and change agents in their communities.
Test & Triumph Campaign
Bringing testing closer to youth. This campaign deploys mobile HIV and TB testing vans to schools, slums, markets, and events—encouraging voluntary testing in a friendly, confidential environment. Testing is linked to counseling, referral, and follow-up care.
Smart Love Clubs
Set up in schools and communities, these clubs provide SRHR (Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights) education through games, storytelling, and drama. Topics include safe sex, abstinence, condom use, consent, relationships, and body rights. The clubs encourage youth leadership, discussion, and creative expression.
ART Buddies Program
This support system links HIV+ adolescents and youth with trained peers who offer emotional support, check-ins, reminders, and encouragement to ensure adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). The program promotes confidentiality, trust, and hope for a healthy life.
Festival of Hope
An annual youth concert and celebration featuring local musicians, poets, dancers, and HIV champions. With free HIV testing booths, condom distribution, and health information tents, the festival brings joy and awareness together—reducing stigma through culture, music, and visibility.
Muvubuka Wekuume Campaign
A localized outreach campaign targeting boda-boda riders, market boys, youth taxi drivers, and other high-risk youth groups. It uses tailored prevention messaging, condom distribution, and health dialogues in native languages to reduce risky behaviors in these networks.
Uganda’s youth are still highly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS due to misinformation, stigma, silence, and cultural taboos. The Red Ribbon Project boldly breaks these barriers by putting the power of prevention and solidarity in the hands of young people. With engaging, inclusive, and community-rooted approaches, the project aims to end the shame, the silence, and ultimately the spread of HIV among the youth of Uganda.
We do not just fight the virus—we build a generation that knows better, lives wiser, and stands together.
“We wear the red ribbon not just in remembrance, but in resistance, resilience, and responsibility.”
– The Red Ribbon Project, Apnom Youth Organisation