Khulani Siphile Siphuhle Training Program in South Africa (KiSS-TP)

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ ABSTRACT South Africa is the centre of the global HIV epidemic and has the largest absolute number of people living with HIV (~7.9 million) of any country in the world. South Africa also has the world’s highest TB prevalence (852 per 100,000 population aged >15 years), and the greatest incidence of co-morbid TB among those living with HIV. These high rates of HIV and TB are further compounded by the high burden of common mental disorders (CMDs), especially when co-morbid with HIV and HIV/TB. Underlying these national-level health trends are provincial and district health inequalities resulting from the legacy of the racist apartheid regime. The structural inequities wrought by apartheid continue to influence the distribution and prevalence of social, economic and behavioural risk factors that impact health outcomes, all of which continue to be observed in national surveys and health indicators. Similar to Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States, South Africa’s Historically Disadvantaged Institutions (HDIs) were established as non-White, segregated institutions during apartheid. Due to historic injustices, HDIs have not generated the type of academic resources or research infrastructure to enable them to compete with their affluent counterparts or establish a global footprint within the research environment. To address these historic health and institutional inequities wrought by South Africa’s racist Apartheid regime, invest in institutions outside of the historically advantaged cities of Durban, Johannesburg or Cape Town, and create a critical mass of cutting-edge HIV researchers within the HDIs of South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province, we propose the Khulani Siphile Siphuhle Training Program (KiSS-TP). Specifically, we will offer an intensive, interdisciplinary, mentored PhD training program to eight carefully selected Masters-level faculty and staff at University of Fort Hare (UFH), Walter Sisulu University (WSU) and the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation’s (DTHF) research program in Eastern Cape; UFH and WSU are two of South Africa’s eight designated HDIs. We will also strengthen PhD training capacity in Eastern Cape through professional development and progression towards independent research programmes for UFH and WSU faculty and D43 trainees. Our training consortium will include DTHF, UFH, WSU, University of Cape Town and University of California Global Health Institute. By selecting PhD trainees who are junior faculty and staff affiliated with Eastern Cape HDIs and research institutions, we ensure an immediate return-on-investment regarding: 1) an increase in cutting-edge research capacity in Eastern Cape, 2) support of academic capacity for nascent PhD programs at UFH and WSU, and 3) training of next generation HIV researchers. Trainees will have the opportunity to practice their developing skills through mentored research in the Eastern Cape focused on one of four critical areas of need in that region of South Africa: Adolescent health, HIV care and prevention; Men’s health, HIV care and prevention; HIV and mental health; and HIV and TB.