“The contest doesn’t focus on looks, but on a young positive being a role model for other young people with HIV, on being able to advocate for the needs of young people, and to increase acceptance and understanding of young people living with HIV in society.”

For the past 8 years, Y+ Pageant has been changing the narrative for young people living with HIV under their umbrella organization, Uganda Network of Young People Living with HIV/Aids (UNYPA). In September 2021, it
launched the Y+ (young positive) 2021 beauty pageant at the Kampala Serena Hotel, themed “Opening the Opportunities.

The launch had artiste Irene Ntale entertain the audience with her music. Irene sang and crowned her performance with Gyobeera which got the audience singing along. The purpose of the launch was to reveal the course of the three months’ campaign including online activations, regional auditions, Boot camp, and lastly, the grand finale. According to Ruth Awori, the programs manager at Uganda Network Of Young People Living with HIV/Aids (UNYPA), the pageant will run through regions that are, Central, Northern, Western and Eastern.

The regional auditions will comprise of young men and women between the ages of 15–24 living with HIV from partner organizations or health centers in regions. She also revealed that this year’s auditions will comprise of a series of activities like integrated community service events, community dialogues to build awareness of stigma and discrimination among community members but it is also tackling associated conditions such as mental health challenges.

According to Joram Muzira a celebrated pageant coach, the contest doesn’t focus on looks, but on a young positive being a role model for other young people with HIV, on being able to advocate for the needs of young people, and to increase acceptance and understanding of young people living with HIV in society.

The boot camp will be a week-long capacity building and strengthening training conducted by external and internal trainers where the 18 contestants, four from each region that is North, East, West, and six contestants from the central region. The regional ambassadors will camp together for capacity strengthening, empowerment and are given the resources they need to succeed through providing knowledge and skills on economic empowerment, key advocacy, life, and hands-on skills such as talent breeding, beadwork and crafts, pad making, and many more.

This year’s boot camp will be conducted on 14th- 24th November 2021 and the grand finale will climax the three months campaign and will be conducted on November 26th.

The Y+ beauty pageant is an annual campaign aimed at fighting stigma and discrimination as well as addressing the structural drivers of gender-based violence and other HIV-related issues against young people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Y+ represents young people living with HIV.

HIV and AIDS continues to be one of the major Sexual and Reproductive Health issues facing young people in Uganda, and the HIV risk among young people is aggravated by the fact that most of them are having their sexual debut at the early age of 15 years.

Teenage pregnancy is still disproportionally high at 25% in the country (UDHS, 2018).

Amidst the fear of COVID-19, AIDS is still a leading killer in Uganda and the world.

What the current pandemic has done is to threaten to reverse the accomplishments that have been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Uganda.

As of 2018, we had 1.4 million Ugandans living with HIV and lost 23,000 people to AIDS-related illnesses.

Uganda has the highest percentage of people between the ages of 15 and 25 living with HIV&AIDS in East Africa.

3.7% of females and 2.4% of males in the age group live with HIV in Uganda, which also ranks ninth in Africa.

The Y+ Beauty pageant has been tested since 2014 with 10 contestants and this number has increased over the 6 years to 1092 ambassadors as of 2020. These ambassadors have taken up the responsibility of fighting and discrimination in their different communities through different activities like school outreaches peer to peer support groups, dialogue, and representation at both national and international high-level meetings.

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