Building Partnerships to Reduce Youth HIV Risk in Africa

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In Sub-Saharan Africa, the infrastructure for social science research is extremely fragile. In the proposed project, The Alan Guttmacher Institute would provide increased expertise and capacity in HIV-related research to two research centers that will collaborate on its funded research project. These two centers are APHRC, a research center in Nairobi, Kenya and UERD, a research center in Burkina Faso. Capacity-building activities would be added to the Research Project, whose goal is to improve adolescents' ability to prevent HIV infection. These activities would strengthen the two centers and would also enhance and leverage the work of the Research Project. The proposed activities include: a) For UERD, expanding expertise in research and communication by adding three comprehensive training workshops to the Research Project, adding internships with APHRC and AGI, and increasing training in communication techniques; b) For APHRC, taking a lead role in organizing the three added workshops and increasing their expertise in providing training, increasing skills in comparative analysis on youth and HIV prevention, and increasing skills in communicating research findings at the regional level. For both organizations, this project would provide support for some infrastructural needs, principally for computers and internet connectivity. This project would also have the long-term advantage of raising the visibility and profile of APHRC as a regional organization and strengthening UERD as a recognized center in Burkina Faso. These activities would directly increase the expertise and capacity of UERD and APHRC and will build on their existing skills to help construct a foundation for their long-term strength and sustainability. The expanded activities would also increase the potential of the Research Project to have an impact on policy and programs and to improve prevention of HIV among youth in Sub-Saharan Africa.