Locations

Tanzania

Project Leads/PIs

Dorothy Dow
Akwila Temu
Blandina Mmbaga
Aisa Shayo

Partners

Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Ifakara Health Institute, Baylor Center of Excellence 

Sauti ya Vijana (SYV: The Voice of Youth)  Project Leads: Dorothy Dow, PhD; Blandina Mmbaga. MD; Aisa Shayo, MD; Akwila Temu, MBBS, MMed;

Project Overview

SYV is a peer-led, group-based mental health and life skills intervention for adolescents and young adults with HIV in Tanzania. It was co-created with youth and utilizes components of evidence-based psychotherapies (cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, motivational interviewing) that were mapped to the many challenges youth face in order to introduce skills that help them cope and inform better decision-making. SYV was tested in a randomized trial and planned to scale across new regions of Tanzania in a new cluster randomized hybrid-2-effectiveness implementation trial. The intended impact is improved mental health and HIV outcomes for this vulnerable population in Tanzania.

Related Publications

Fuksman A, Nasuwa F, Mollel GJ, Ketang'enyi E, Komba L, Samson L, Abdul N, Ndelwa L, Mmbaga B, Senkoro E, O'Donnell K, Baumgartner JN, Dow DE. "Since I got the education, I feel like a kind of warrior": a qualitative study of participant perspectives and preferences about Sauti ya Vijana, a mental health intervention for young people with HIV in Tanzania. AIDS Care. 2026 Aug 24:1-16. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2026.2710530.

Agina, C., Nasuwa, F., Mosha, J., Abdul, N., Sanga, E., Samson, L., Ndelwa, L. A., Mmbaga, B. T., Baumgartner, J. N., & Dow, D. E. (2026). Peer-led interventions: Exploring the peer group leader experience of delivering Sauti ya Vijana, a group-based mental health intervention for youth living with HIV in Tanzania. PLOS mental health, 3(1), e0000512.

Agina C, Nasuwa F, Mosha J, Abdul N, Sanga E, Samson L, Ndelwa LA, Mmbaga BT, Baumgartner JN, Dow DE. Peer-led interventions: Exploring the peer group leader experience of delivering Sauti ya Vijana, a group-based mental health intervention for youth living with HIV in Tanzania. PLOS Ment Health. 2026 Jan 21;3(1):e0000512. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmen.0000512.

Fawole A, Zimmerman A, Bateganya M, Mmbaga BT, Dow D, Ogbuoji O. Cost of Sauti ya Vijana (SYV), a mental health intervention for young people living with HIV in Tanzania: Results from a pilot randomized controlled trial. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2025 Dec 18;5(12):e0005397. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0005397.

Chow, D., Pronyk, P., Mgimba, R., Elimwaria, W., Ndaki, R., Ambokile, A., Mmbaga, B. T., & Dow, D. (2025). Integrating a mental health referral system within adolescent HIV clinics in Tanzania. AIDS (London, England), 39(13), 1920–1925.

Dow, D., Rahim, F., Nasuwa, F., O'Donnell, K., Baumgartner, J. N., & Mmbaga, B. (2025). Mental Health Care Gaps for Adolescents With HIV: Lessons From Tanzania and the United States. Pediatrics, 156(Suppl 1), e2025070739D.

Mollel, G. J., Ketang'enyi, E., Komba, L., Mmbaga, B. T., Shayo, A. M., Boshe, J., Knettel, B., Gallis, J. A., Turner, E. L., O'Donnell, K., Baumgartner, J. N., Ogbuoji, O., & Dow, D. E. (2024). Study protocol for Sauti ya Vijana (The Voice of Youth): A hybrid-type 1 randomized trial to evaluate effectiveness and implementation of a mental health and life skills intervention to improve health outcomes for Tanzanian youth living with HIV. PloS one, 19(8), e0305471.

Dow, D. E., Mmbaga, B. T., Gallis, J. A., Turner, E. L., Gandhi, M., Cunningham, C. K., & O'Donnell, K. E. (2020). A group-based mental health intervention for young people living with HIV in Tanzania: results of a pilot individually randomized group treatment trial. BMC public health, 20(1), 1358.

Dow, D. E., Mmbaga, B. T., Turner, E. L., Gallis, J. A., Tabb, Z. J., Cunningham, C. K., & O'Donnell, K. E. (2019). Building resilience: a mental health intervention for Tanzanian youth living with HIV. AIDS care, 30(sup4), 12–20.