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AbstractIntroductionAdolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in South Africa bear a disproportionate burden ofHIV. Community mobilization (CM), defined as community members taking collective action to achieve a common goal related to health, equity and rights, has been associated with increasedHIVtesting and condom use and has been called a 'critical enabler' for addressing theHIVepidemic. However, limited research has examined whetherCMis associated withHIVincidence amongAGYW.MethodsWe examine the association ofCMwith incidentHIVamongAGYW(ages 13 to 21) enrolled in theHPTN068 cohort in the Agincourt Health and socio‐Demographic Surveillance System, South Africa. This analysis includes 2292 participants residing in 26 villages where cross‐sectional, population‐based surveys were conducted to measureCMamong 18‐ to 35‐year‐old residents in 2012 and 2014.HPTN068 participants completed up to five annual visits that included anHIVtest (2011 to 2016). Household‐level data were collected fromAGYWparents/guardians and census data is updated annually. Mean village‐levelCMscores were created using a validated community mobilization measure with seven components (social cohesion, social control, critical consciousness, shared concerns, organizations and networks, leadership and collective action). We used pooled generalized estimating equation regression with a Poisson distribution to estimate risk ratios (RR) for the association of village‐levelCMscore andCMcomponents with incidentHIVinfection, accounting for village‐level clustering and adjusting for key covariates.ResultsThere were 194 incident infections over the follow‐up period. For every additional standard deviation of village‐levelCMthere was 12% lowerHIVincidence (RR: 0.88, 95%CI: 0.79, 0.98) after adjusting for individual, household and community characteristics.CMcomponents associated with lowerHIVincidence included critical consciousness (RR: 0.88;CI: 0.79, 0.97) and leadership (RR: 0.87;CI: 0.79, 0.95); while not statistically significant, social cohesion (RR: 0.91;CI: 0.81, 1.01), shared concerns (RR: 0.90;CI: 0.81, 1.00), and organizations and networks (RR: 0.91;CI: 0.79, 1.03) may also play a protective role.ConclusionsThese results suggest that having strong community social resources will reduceAGYW's risk ofHIVacquisition. Work to mobilize communities, focusing on building social cohesion, shared concerns, critical consciousness, and effective and accountable leadership, can fortify prevention programming forAGYW.