Inside the mobile game where boys learn about HIV, condoms, and masculinity
From right: Homa Bay County Public Health Chief Officer Evelyne Ododa, Maseno University Director of Research and Innovation, Prof Collins Ouma, Eva Ojwang, and researcher Erick Ndenga during the closure of the Dedicated, Responsible, Energised AIDS-Free Mentored Boys (DREAMBOYS) study on May 18, 2026.
What you need to know:
- Despite overall awareness of HIV, adolescents are often not well informed about the disease, leading to higher infection risks and late diagnosis among young people.
- Those who drop out of school or do not complete secondary education miss out on crucial, structured comprehensive sexuality education and HIV awareness, leaving them with incorrect perceptions of their personal risk.
Kenya aims to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, including eliminating all new HIV infections among children by 2027.
According to the National Syndemic Diseases Control Council (NSDCC), key initiatives to achieve this include scaling up free antiretroviral therapy, rolling out the long-acting injectable prevention drug Lenacapavir, and implementing the "End the Triple Threat" campaign to stop new infections, adolescent pregnancies, and sexual and gender-based violence.
Despite overall awareness of HIV, adolescents are often not well informed about the disease, leading to higher infection risks and late diagnosis among young people. Those who drop out of school or do not complete secondary education miss out on crucial, structured comprehensive sexuality education and HIV awareness, leaving them with incorrect perceptions of their personal risk.
Also read: One in three new HIV infections in Turkana are youth aged 15–24 as county turns to peer educators
These knowledge gaps — poor understanding of transmission risks, misconceptions about prevention methods, and unfamiliarity with testing and treatment protocols — mean the country continues to record high incidence rates despite ongoing efforts. Moreover, many youths face fear, stigma, and judgment when trying to access reproductive health services and HIV testing at traditional health facilities.
As Kenya intensifies its efforts to end AIDS as a public health threat, attention is increasingly turning to adolescent boys and young men, a critical but often underserved population in HIV prevention.
During the 2024 World AIDS Day celebrations, Principal Secretary for Medical Services Harry Kimtai reinforced this focus under the theme "Promoting the Health and Well-Being of Men and Boys." While acknowledging Kenya's progress in reducing HIV infections, he noted that of the 16,752 new infections recorded in 2023, nearly four in every 10 occurred among adolescents and young people aged 15–24, highlighting the urgent need for innovative approaches to effectively reach and engage young people before they become infected.
It is against this backdrop that a group of researchers from Maseno University, in a pilot study conducted in Homa Bay County, sought to answer whether community-engaged, human-centred digital approaches could help bridge the gap between HIV knowledge and behaviour change among adolescent boys.
Led by Erick Ndenga, a doctoral candidate in Public Health at Maseno University, the team has been seeking answers since 2023 through DREAMBOYS (Dedicated, Responsible, Energized AIDS-Free Mentored Boys), an innovative intervention that combines digital gaming, mentorship, and community participation to improve HIV literacy among adolescent boys and young men.
Ndenga explains that DREAMBOYS was developed in response to a persistent gap in HIV prevention programming for this group. While many HIV interventions rightly focus on girls and young women because of their heightened vulnerability, adolescent boys are often underserved despite facing significant risks related to peer pressure, harmful gender norms, substance use, poor health-seeking behaviours, and limited access to youth-friendly health information.
"DREAMBOYS was designed to explore whether digital technology, particularly game-based learning, could provide a more engaging and relatable way of reaching adolescent boys with accurate HIV information and positive health messages, given current developments in the global technological ecosystem," says Ndenga.
He began developing the intervention in 2023. It combines mobile gaming, mentorship, and community engagement to improve HIV literacy and promote responsible decision-making among boys aged 11–17. The game incorporates real-life decision-making scenarios, HIV prevention education, myths-versus-facts modules, condom awareness, voluntary counselling and testing information, and positive masculinity messaging delivered through progressive levels, challenges, and interactive learning activities.
The intervention was community-engaged and human-centred, working through the county structure in Homa Bay, including the office of the First Gentleman, the ministries of health and education, and other stakeholders. Ndenga received mentorship and support from senior researchers at Maseno University, the Kenya Medical Research Institute, and the University of California San Francisco through the Sustainable Development for HIV Health (SD4H) programme.
The pilot study recruited 35 adolescent boys from Homa Bay County. According to Ndenga, the objective was not to demonstrate population-level impact but to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and potential of a gamified HIV education approach before undertaking larger studies.
"Pilot studies are designed to help researchers understand whether an intervention is practical, acceptable to participants, and capable of producing the intended learning outcomes. The findings provide an important foundation for future evaluation and scale-up," he explains.
Participants played the game for approximately 20 minutes daily over three months. The platform tracked engagement and progression through six learning modules, each with five levels, while researchers assessed participants' understanding of HIV-related topics before and after the intervention.
Preliminary findings show improvements in HIV-related knowledge among participants, particularly in transmission, prevention, myths and misconceptions, and health-seeking behaviour. Using the standardised HIV Knowledge Questionnaire, the researchers recorded a mean increase in score from 77.7 (SD 13.1) out of a possible 180 points at baseline to 130.3 (SD 22.9) at endline.
The study also found high levels of engagement and acceptability, with no dropouts and all participants completing the modules within the expected time frame.
"What we observed was that young people were actively engaging with content that they said they might otherwise find difficult or uncomfortable to discuss with their parents.
In a close-out focus group discussion, many reported that the game-based format was more enjoyable and easier to relate to than traditional health education approaches. The gaming environment created a safe space for learning and reflecting on choices," says Ndenga.
Parents, community health volunteers, and local stakeholders also participated in supporting the intervention, helping reinforce learning beyond the digital platform.
According to Ndenga, this combination of technology, mentorship, and community involvement distinguishes DREAMBOYS from many stand-alone digital health education tools. While several HIV education apps and digital platforms exist globally, DREAMBOYS was specifically designed around the lived experiences of adolescent boys in Homa Bay County, incorporating local realities, language considerations, and culturally relevant scenarios. The intervention also places a strong emphasis on positive masculinity, mentorship, and community participation alongside digital learning.
The pilot was developed using low-cost mobile technology and existing community health structures, making it potentially scalable at a lower cost than repeated in-person training programmes. Ndenga says the pilot demonstrates the potential of gamified public health interventions to complement existing HIV prevention strategies and improve youth engagement. However, he emphasises that further studies involving larger populations, multiple counties, and additional data analysis will be necessary to establish effectiveness at scale and inform broader implementation.
"DREAMBOYS should be viewed as an innovation that shows promise and warrants further investment and evaluation. It is not a stand-alone solution to HIV, but rather a potentially valuable addition to existing adolescent health and HIV prevention toolkits," he says.
The official closure of the community-engaged research took place in May in Homa Bay Town.
Homa Bay County Chief Officer for Public Health Evelyne Ododa notes that boys have been significantly left out of efforts to control the spread of HIV, with many organisations paying more attention to girls. “This has left a critical gap in our response as a county. DREAMBOYS offers a private, stigma-free space for boys to engage with sensitive topics, ensuring the content reflects their real world,” she says.
Ododa calls the idea a cost-effective method that delivers information to many people simultaneously. She says the health department will consider scaling it from a localised pilot programme to a regional standard of care for youths. “Implementing partners should support and adopt the model as a public health strategy. As we protect our daughters, we also need to educate and empower our sons on the dangers of HIV infection,” she adds.
NSDCC principal programme officer for Homa Bay and Migori, Nelly Egehiza, says boys have always been sidelined in discussions about the war on HIV. She notes that the government is advocating for integrated health management services and that the study’s outcome has opened an opportunity for health stakeholders to develop other ways of dealing with HIV. She says Homa Bay’s annual estimated new infection rate is 1,180, with 25 per cent (243) of those cases being youths. Egehiza adds that boys have always presented challenges when taught about adherence to HIV prevention mechanisms. “Information reaching adolescent boys is one of the greatest milestones that will help us in dealing with HIV. We are working on our county syndemic disease operational plan. We will pick some of the priorities that should be addressed over the next five years,” she
says.
Prof Collins Ouma, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technology at Maseno University and a co-investigator of DREAMBOYS, notes that many men always have poor health-seeking behaviours. “Many men avoid seeking health services due to rigid gender norms. Training them at an early age will deal with the knowledge gaps,” he says. Prof. Ouma, who also serves as director of research and innovation at Maseno University, says the study will enable adolescents to develop a healthy mindset about accessing health services. “Men should understand that health services are for both genders. A lot of medical research was previously done on women. When we start incorporating men, we will address health issues affecting our communities,” he explains.
The university don says research should have an impact on communities and every study should be translatable into policies as a means of addressing societal problems affecting Kenyans. He observes that DREAMBOYS represents more than a research study—it is a model for reimagining how adolescent boys are engaged in health education, mentorship, and community transformation through innovation, empowerment, and meaningful participation.
These efforts could help accelerate progress towards the goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, as well as the spirited fight to end the triple threat of new HIV infections, teen pregnancy, and sexual and gender-based violence.
Given the enthusiasm of stakeholders at the study’s close-out meeting, all that remains is to await the final results and the next steps in the evolution of this unique intervention.
