Development of Mwanza Intervention Trials Unit as a centre of excellence in HIV/STI prevention research

全世界约有3 300万成人和儿童感染了导致艾滋病的艾滋病毒，而且这一数字每年都在继续增长。撒哈拉以南非洲仍然是受影响最严重的地区，约占所有病例的三分之二。虽然艾滋病毒/艾滋病没有治愈的方法，但使用抗逆转录病毒药物可以控制感染，防止其发展为全面的艾滋病。过去五年来，在向非洲更多需要治疗的艾滋病毒感染者提供这种治疗方面取得了很大进展，但每年仍有许多新的艾滋病毒感染病例，这意味着需要治疗的人数将继续增加。除非我们能够找到有效的方法来预防新的感染，否则为越来越多的患者提供终身治疗将是非常困难和昂贵的。只有少数方法被证明是有效的预防艾滋病毒感染，因此我们迫切需要找到新的方法。现在有几种这样的方法正在酝酿之中，这些方法必须在精心设计的试验中进行仔细测试，以确保它们有效。来自伦敦卫生和热带医学学院的科学家们多年来一直与坦桑尼亚姆万扎国家医学研究所（NIMR）的同事们一起进行研究，以寻找控制艾滋病毒的有效方法。2006年，摩洛哥红十字会向该小组提供了初始资金，在姆万扎设立了一个新的审判股，称为姆万扎干预审判股。该单位的目标是在东非发展成为一个示范中心，以试验控制艾滋病毒和其他性健康问题的新方法，在过去三年中，该单位已经成立，并在姆万扎的国家医学研究所校园内建造了一座大楼。我们任命了一位受人尊敬的坦桑尼亚科学家担任科学主任，领导该股，并征聘了其他高级工作人员。我们现在正在寻求资金，以支持该股的继续发展。在今后几年中，我们计划进行一系列试验，研究控制艾滋病毒和其他性传播感染的不同方法。我们还将制定一项全面的培训方案，以便该股能够帮助发展在非洲进行研究的能力。

Worldwide about 33 million adults and children are infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS, and the number continues to grow each year. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the worst affected region, accounting for around two-thirds of all cases. Although there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, use of drugs called antiretrovirals can keep the infection under control and prevent it from developing into full-blown AIDS. A lot of progress has been made in the past five years in making such treatment available to more HIV-infected people in Africa who need it. However, there are still a lot of new HIV infections occurring each year, and this means that the number of people needing treatment will continue to increase. Unless we can find effective ways of preventing new infections, it is going to be very difficult and costly to provide lifelong treatment for an ever-increasing number of patients.Only a few methods have been proven to be effective in preventing HIV infection and so we urgently need to find new methods. Several such methods are now in the pipeline and these will have to be tested carefully in well-designed trials to make sure they work. Scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have been doing research for many years with colleagues at the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in Mwanza, Tanzania, to find effective ways of controlling HIV. In 2006, MRC provided initial funding to this group to set up a new trials unit in Mwanza, called the Mwanza Intervention Trials Unit. The aim of the unit is to develop as a centre of excellence in East Africa for trials of new methods to control HIV and other sexual health problems.During the past three years, the unit has been set up and a building has been constructed to house it on the campus of NIMR in Mwanza. We have appointed a Scientific Director who is a respected Tanzanian scientist to lead the unit, and other senior staff have been recruited. We are now seeking funds to support the continued development of the unit. During the next few years we plan to carry out a range of trials looking at different methods of controlling HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. We will also be developing a comprehensive training programme so that the unit can help to develop capacity to conduct research in Africa.