HIV/AIDS /STI

Knowledge Programme

This research study is funded by the Department for International Development (DfID).  However, DfID can accept no responsibility for any information provided or views expressed

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Following their successful work programmes on HIV/AIDS and Health Sector Reform, Professor Charlie Gilks and Dr Dave Haran successfully bid for the HIV/AIDS & STI Knowledge Programme in partnership with Imperial College, London and University of Natal, Durban, South Africa. Professor Gilks is the Overall Programme Manager, with the work at Imperial College being coordinated by Dr Adrian Renton. Professor Alan Whiteside leads the work in Durban. The KP has provided technical advice to DFID, the World Bank, WHO and UNAIDS. Professor Gilks, is on secondment to WHO, and has been inputting the recommendations of the KP directly into mainline thinking on the universal response to HIV. Dr David Lalloo has taken responsibility for management of the KP at the School. The Programme collaborates with institutes and agencies in Africa, Asia, eastern Europe and the former USSR. A Start-Up Workshop was held in July, 2001 at which over thirty participants from ten countries discussed strategy for achieving the Programme Outputs, and developed Action Plans.

The School's strengths in Gender, Equity and Quality of Care are being drawn on, to ensure that the findings can be used to best effect in pro-poor strategies for resource poor countries. The KP has initiated programmes to generate new knowledge while enhancing the capacity of partners. KP activities have been rapidly scaled up in areas from basic science, through clinical services, and interventions for the prevention of HIV, to the development of advocacy materials. Virological and immunological studies are informing the generation of new pharmacological products. Programmes in social and epidemiological analysis of HIV epidemics, and the social and economic impacts of these epidemics are beginning to deliver important Public Health tools.