Frank Tanser, Director of Population Health Innovation at Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Epidemic Response and InnovationCredit: Stefan Els
New funding has been awarded for the development of HIV-prevention strategies in rural communities of sub-Saharan Africa. The five-year, $2.2 million research grant from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), will be used to identify vulnerable groups at high risk of contracting the virus, and design appropriate intervention strategies.
Frank Tanser, Director of Population Health Innovation at Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI), says the project aims to develop comprehensive HIV-prevention programmes that take into account the evolving dynamics of COVID-19.
The work will be led by researchers at Stellenbosch, in South Africa, and will involve scientists from several international universities, including The University of KwaZulu-Natal, Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), the University of Lincoln, in the United Kingdom, The University of Heidelberg, in Germany, the University of Washington, New York University, and the University of Cincinnati, in the United States.
The HIV epidemic has been a huge burden in South Africa, where 7.8 million people have the virus. One in every seven new infections occurs. COVID-19 has disrupted HIV care and could cause a shift in the burden of unsuppressed viral load and new HIV infections.
