SUPPORT

The challenge

Despite some progress, sub-Saharan Africa still has relatively few health researchers, and it is often difficult for researchers to advance their careers within the region. 

International research partnerships, such as those supported by EDCTP, create additional opportunities for capacity building. Each programme typically includes projects for master’s and PhD students, but there is also potential to embed studies for additional early- and mid-career researchers.

The project

The SUPPORT project is leveraging the infrastructure created by the EDCTP2-funded UNIVERSAL and EMPIRICAL programmes by embedding training opportunities for an additional eight early-career researchers and five mid-career postdoctoral researchers.

The UNIVERSAL and EMPIRICAL programmes are both focused on the management of HIV infections in children. An estimated 1.7 million children in sub-Saharan Africa are living with HIV and, despite successful efforts to reduce mother-to-child transmission, around 160,000 new infections occur each year. Although HIV infections in children can be controlled, children are at increased risk of both opportunistic and endemic infections and of acquiring multidrug-resistant infections.

The UNIVERSAL study is evaluating first and second-line fixed-dose combinations for use in children. The EMPIRICAL study is assessing empirical treatment of pneumonia, to which children living with HIV appear particularly susceptible.

For the SUPPORT project, Makerere University in Uganda is acting as the scientific leadership hub. Fellows will be integrated into sites within the UNIVERSAL and EMPIRICAL networks in Mozambique, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. They will conduct their own research projects on HIV management in children and benefit from an integrated mix of face-to-face and online research training activities, including internships at European institutions.

Each fellow will have two mentors – one local and one from elsewhere within the SUPPORT network. Fellows and mentors will jointly develop and follow up on personal career development plans. The project has a strong emphasis on equity: it will ensure balanced gender representation, involve collaborations across English-, French-, and Portuguese-speaking countries, and recruit fellows from countries with less well-developed health research systems.

Impact

The SUPPORT project will have both scientific and capacity-building impact. It will:

• Generate additional evidence on treatment and care of children living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Enable 8 early- and 5 mid-career scientists from Africa to carry out research within international networks, providing an outstanding learning environment with guidance and support from mentors

The SUPPORT project is strengthening health research capacity in sub-Saharan Africa in a key field of medicine, paediatric HIV care, which is presenting multiple new challenges to health systems across Africa.