Key facts
- EHPSA is four year programme funded by UK aid and SIDA and managed by Mott MacDonald.
- We are supporting nine cutting edge research programmes on HIV prevention for adolescents, LGBTI and prisoners.
- We are supporting the process of getting new research evidence into country policies, and therefore improving HIV services for vulnerable groups.
- We are supporting a key regional non-governmental organisation working to improve services for prisoners who have experienced sexual violence.
Challenges
Sub-Saharan Africa is the global epicentre of the HIV epidemic. While huge strides have been made in improving access to treatment, HIV prevention is still lagging behind: each year there are more new infections than numbers of people being put on treatment. Key groups have been identified who are most at risk of HIV, including adolescents, LGBTI and prisoners. Socio-legal barriers have prevented comprehensive programming for these groups.
Solution
- We have identified gaps in the HIV prevention research agenda for vulnerable groups and have commissioned leading research organisations to generate new evidence that will improve national and regional HIV prevention policy.
- A complementary ‘research into practice’ strategy supports policymakers to understand and make use of the evidence from research.
- Our work will be supported by a communications strategy that includes symposiums, technical forums, plain English publications, webinars and multi-media productions.
Value and benefits
Our programme is intended to strengthen the HIV response throughout the eastern and southern Africa region by increasing access to appropriate HIV and sexual health services for adolescents, prisoners and LGBTI. This will save lives and improve the health care for many people as well as reduce new HIV infections. Find out more at: www.ehpsa.org.