ScaleUp4YBY

Get ready to make a difference!

Since 2018, the 4 Youth by Youth (4YBY) team has partnered with young people, communities, and health professionals to co-create HIV prevention services and solutions to public health challenges. Our youth-friendly HIV self-testing services have helped thousands of young people in Nigeria know their HIV status, but the public health climate has become tougher, with fewer resources and shifting priorities. To protect what works, we need ways to grow these services to reach more young people and keep them going for years to come.

Join us in scaling up! As we approach World AIDS Day on December 1, 2026, we are excited to announce a contest that puts (YOU)th at the front and center of public health. We invite teams to share ideas on how 4YBY can expand and scale up across Nigeria so young people can always access its services. This is your chance to lead your own solutions and make a real impact.

We want to hear from you! Share your creativity through writing, art, music, videos, storytelling, poetry, or mixed media.

Join us and make it happen!

Theme

The theme of this contest is ScaleUp4YBY.

The Challenge

We invite you to contribute your ideas and creativity to the challenge: How might we scale up 4YBY's youth-friendly HIV self-testing services across Nigeria so that young people can always have access to them?

What Does "Scale Up" Mean?

The World Health Organization (WHO) and ExpandNet, a global network of public health experts, describe "scale up" as a planned effort to expand a health service that has been tested and shown to work, so it helps more people and lasts long-term. ¹

Research has shown that 4YBY helped more young people in Nigeria test for HIV. ² The next step is to find out how it can grow and keep going long-term.

WHO and ExpandNet describe four main ways health services can scale up: ¹

• Spreading wider (horizontal scale-up): The service reaches more places and more people.
• Offering more (functional scale-up): The service adds new, related services to what it already provides.
• Becoming part of the system (vertical scale-up): Government and other organizations adopt the service, so it keeps running over time.
• Building stronger organizations: The groups that deliver the service gain the skills, leadership, and resources to run it well over time.

In this year's contest, we want to hear how 4YBY can scale up in ways that improve access to HIV self-testing. Your idea may focus on one of the scaling areas listed above or combine several.

Example: A youth group that already offers 4YBY HIV self-testing partners with local pharmacies and a university health center to reach more young people (spreading wider). It adds mental health check-ins to its peer support sessions (offering more) and trains youth volunteers to manage test kit stock and records (building stronger organizations).

Eligibility

• Open to youths, community-based organizations, academics, and health services representatives in Nigeria.
• Team submissions are mandatory and should consist of a minimum of 4 participants and a maximum of 6 participants.
• Teams with community-based organization representatives are preferred but not compulsory.
• No previous experience is required, and all backgrounds are encouraged to participate.

Submission Types

We welcome all forms of creative submissions:

• Essays
• Storytelling
• Poetry
• Letters
• Videos
• Artwork
• Music and audio
• Mixed media content
• Or any other creative format that expresses your ideas.

Submission Guidelines

• Written Entries: Essays, stories, letters, and poems must not exceed 800 words and should be submitted as a Word document or PDF.
• Videos, Music, and Audio: Submissions must not exceed 3 minutes and should be submitted as an MP4 or MP3 file or through a shareable link, such as Google Drive or unlisted YouTube.
• Artwork: Submit up to 3 images in JPG, PNG, or PDF format, accompanied by a short description of your idea of up to 150 words.
• Mixed Media and Other Formats: Follow the limit for your main format and include a short description of up to 150 words.
• Language: Entries may be in English. Entries in Nigerian Pidgin and other languages are welcome if they include an English translation or subtitles.
• One Entry Per Team: Each team may submit only one entry.
• Anonymous Submissions: Do not include names or other identifying information in your entry. Provide contact details only through email or the Google Form.

Judging Process

After all submissions are received, a panel of expert judges from diverse and relevant backgrounds will review the entries based on the judging criteria outlined below.

Judging Criteria for the Contest:

• Relevance: How well does your idea show how 4YBY's youth-friendly HIV self-testing services can be scaled up through one or more of the four areas, in ways that support the whole young person?
• Clarity: How well does your submission get your message across? Is your idea clear, interesting, and easy to understand?
• Innovation: How creative and original is your idea? Are you sharing new and exciting ways to scale up 4YBY?
• Feasibility: How practical is your idea for different settings in Nigeria, both rural and urban? Can your idea be easily expanded and maintained over time?

The entries with the highest cumulative scores will be awarded 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes.

4YBY Annual World AIDS Day Event

On December 1, 2026, 4YBY will hold its Annual World AIDS Day Event. The contest timeline provides for judging between November 22 and November 28, 2026, with notifications scheduled for November 28–30, 2026.

The World AIDS Day Event is an opportunity to celebrate youth-led innovation, share ideas, and strengthen our collective commitment to expanding access to youth-friendly HIV self-testing services across Nigeria.

Awards

The top three entries will receive:

• 1st Place: ₦250,000
• 2nd Place: ₦150,000
• 3rd Place: ₦100,000

Additional Benefits:

• Recognition on social media
• The opportunity to make an impact
• Exposure to a global network of public health professionals

Timeline

• Open Call: November 1–22, 2026
• Webinar: November 6, 2026
• Submission Deadline: November 22, 2026, at 11:59 PM WAT
• Judging Period: November 22–28, 2026
• Notifications: November 28–30, 2026
• 4YBY Annual World AIDS Day Event: December 1, 2026

Contest Rules

All submissions will be evaluated anonymously. Please do not include any identifying information, such as names or organization names, in your entry. Contact details should only be provided through email or the Google Form.

Entries that have been published, accepted for publication, or shared elsewhere are not eligible, even if revised or excerpted. This includes any appearance in print or online, such as newspapers, newsletters, magazines, books, websites, blogs, or social media.

Entries must be the team's own original work. Plagiarized entries, including work copied from others without credit, will be disqualified.

By participating, you grant us permission to use parts or all of your submission in publications, promotional materials, social media, and other platforms related to the program.

Noncompliance will result in disqualification at any stage of the review process.

Submissions must have an artificial intelligence (AI) detection score of less than 10% to be considered.

How to Enter

Interested teams can submit their entries through email or Google Form no later than November 22, 2026, at 11:59 PM WAT.

• Method 1: Google Form Submission
  Submit your team's entry via the Google Form. Follow the submission guidelines for your chosen format. Links to images, audio files, and video files can be included as shareable links.


• Method 2: Email Submission
  Submit your team's entry via the official contest submission email address. Ensure that your submission follows the guidelines for written entries, images, videos, music, audio, or mixed media.

Please note that each team must consist of 4 to 6 participants, and only one entry per team is allowed.

References

1. World Health Organization, ExpandNet. Nine steps for developing a scaling-up strategy. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2010. View Publication
2. Iwelunmor J, Tucker JD, Ezechi O, et al. Sustaining HIV research in resource-limited settings using PLAN (People, Learning, Adapting, Nurturing): evidence from the 4 Youth by Youth project in Nigeria. Current HIV/AIDS Reports. 2023;20(2):111-120. View Publication
3. World Health Organization. WHO guide on scaling up innovation. View Publication