Project Completion Report
Navigate Together: Youth for HIV Access
Youth leading better access to health services across Rangpur Division, Bangladesh
Implemented by Noboprobhaat Foundation
Technically supported by NFWLHA and Youth LEAD · Youth Grant Hub South Asia
Financially supported by the Global Fund (GF CRG)
From 26 August to 30 September 2026, Noboprobhaat Foundation implemented “Navigate Together: Youth for HIV Access” — a youth-led initiative to strengthen young people’s leadership and make HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care services more accessible and welcoming for rural, marginalized young people from key and vulnerable communities across the eight districts of Rangpur Division.
Our Goal & Objectives
The project aimed to shift young people from being passive recipients of services to active leaders in their communities’ health response. Its three objectives were to:
- Document the barriers young people face in reaching HIV and health services, and carry their recommendations to decision-makers.
- Establish a youth-led network — the Youth HIV Navigators Network — across all eight districts of Rangpur Division.
- Equip the Navigators with practical skills to guide their peers to the right services and to advocate for change.
What We Did
The project moved through three connected steps — first listening to young people, then organising them, and finally equipping them to act.
Young people and service providers in open dialogue, Dinajpur
1. We started by listening
In Dinajpur — a remote district on the northern border — young people from marginalized communities sat down with health officials, service providers and Drop-in Centre staff. For many, it was the first time they had spoken with decision-makers directly. They described the real obstacles they face in reaching HIV prevention, testing and treatment, and those concerns and recommendations were drawn together into a Community Voices Brief to carry forward.
📅 13 September 2026 · Dinajpur · 35 participants
Launch of the Youth HIV Navigators Network, Rangpur
2. We built a team of young leaders
Sixteen young leaders — two from each of the eight districts of Rangpur Division — came together to formally launch the Youth HIV Navigators Network. Together they agreed how it would work: its structure, each Navigator’s role, a shared Network Guideline, and district-by-district action plans for peer support and advocacy.
📅 15 September 2026 · Rangpur · 16 Navigators
Hands-on, two-day skills-development training, Rangpur
3. We prepared them for the work
Over two days, all sixteen Navigators trained in HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care, peer referral, confidentiality, safe documentation, advocacy, and personal and digital safety. Through hands-on exercises they also mapped the services that actually exist in their own districts — so each Navigator left ready to guide peers to the right support from day one.
📅 17–18 September 2026 · Rangpur · 16 Navigators
What We Achieved
| What we planned | What we achieved |
|---|---|
| Consult young people and document service barriers | 35 participants engaged; barriers documented and heard directly by service providers ✓ |
| Establish a 16-member youth network across 8 districts | Network established with a Guideline & district action plans ✓ |
| Train Navigators in practical skills | All 16 trained and equipped with district service maps ✓ |
| Develop & share a Community Voices Brief | Brief developed and shared with health stakeholders ✓ |
Beyond the numbers, the most meaningful change was in confidence and awareness. Many young people learned, often for the first time, that accessing health services is their right — knowledge that rarely reaches remote communities. Local service providers, hearing these experiences first-hand, committed to making their services friendlier and more welcoming for all young people.
“We now know that getting these services is our right — and we are ready to support one another.” — a young participant from Dinajpur
A Structure That Will Last
The Youth HIV Navigators Network has not been created as a one-off event, but as a standing part of Noboprobhaat Foundation’s ongoing work. With two Navigators in every district and their own guideline and action plans, the Network gives Rangpur Division a durable, youth-led presence that will continue to connect young people to health services well beyond the project period.
How You Can Support
To keep this youth-led momentum alive, we welcome partnership and support to:
- Sustain and expand the Youth HIV Navigators Network across more communities.
- Continue awareness and rights-based sessions in remote, underserved areas.
- Strengthen follow-up with health service providers and community-led monitoring.
To collaborate or learn more, contact us at contact@noboprobhaat.org.
📄 Read the full narrative report: Navigate Together — Narrative Report (PDF) The report is password-protected and available on request.
“Navigate Together: Youth for HIV Access” was executed by Noboprobhaat Foundation under the Youth Grant Hub South Asia programme — technically supported by the National Federation of Women Living with HIV and AIDS (NFWLHA) and Youth LEAD, and financially supported by the Global Fund (Community, Rights and Gender).