Epicentre introduces an HIV research program

With KwaZulu Natal currently having the highest HIV prevalence in the country, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria NPO, has partnered with organisations such as Epicentre to help combat the spread of this virus.

Epicentre, is a public health research organisation that compiles research on HIV, TB and chronic conditions and evaluates how these have an impact on different communities.

The organisation will be visiting different homes around Zululand in November to introduce the HERStory research project.

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The project will set out to measure out the effectiveness of programmes that were implemented by The Global Fund (through its partners) to reduce the transmission of HIV in young women.

With stats showing that young women and girls between the ages of 15-24 are at a higher risk of being infected with HIV, Epicentre is hoping to understand how these stats can be lowered.

Households will be selected randomly and study procedures will take between one and two hours. Epicentre officials will be asking for consent from all the households they will visit.

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Community members will be asked to fill in a questionnaire and get blood tests (if they are willing). All this will be done privately and officials will ensure that all information is kept confidential.

No names will be written on the questionnaires or blood samples.

The survey will run through the next six months and the study has been approved by the South African Medical Research Council Research Ethics Committee and the Department of Health in the district.