Sub-Saharan African Network for TB/HIV research Excellence (SANTHE) (360G-Wellcome-107752_B_15_Z)

We will create a sub-Saharan African network of African-led research in HIV (particularly acute HIV (AHI)) and Tuberculosis (TB) infection, which will shape and drive locallyrelevant basic, clinical and translational research in Africa. Our four institutional partnersare all well-established sites: the KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for TB and HIV (K-RITH) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) (South Africa), the Rwanda-Zambia HIV Research Group (RZHRG) (Rwanda and Zambia), the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) (Kenya), and the Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership (BHP) (Botswana). K-RITH/UKZN and RZHRG have been collaborating as part of the Canada-sub Saharan Africa (CANSSA) HIV/AIDS network; and K-RITH/UKZN, RZHRG, KWTRP, and our collaborating partners for this grant, the University of Nairobi (Kenya), the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI)/IAVI site (Uganda), and Aurum Institute (South Africa) have collaborated through an AHI network. New collaborating partners include: University of Rwanda, University of Zambia, and University of Botswana. Our group combines world-renowned expertise in heterosexual HIV transmission in discordant couple cohort studies in Zambia and Rwanda, TB in Botswana and South Africa, AHI studies in female and male cohorts in South Africa and Botswana, and homosexual cohort studies in Kenya. These existing research programmes are supported by long-term partners: Emory University, Harvard University, Oxford University, University College London, Einstein College of Medicine, University of Washington, Amsterdam University, Oregon Health Sciences University, Simon Fraser University and Hamburg University. Our programme strategy targets: 1. Expand on a cuttingedge HIV and TB research programme that includes basic, clinical and translational research. 2. Foster an innovative training and capacity building programme, to develop knowledge and skills for the next generation of African researchers across all institutional partner sites. 3. Facilitate a strong institutional network for research excellence as a pathway to intellectual andfinancial independence for African researchers and their institutions through pilot grants, infrastructure support and administrative support. 4. Create a programme for clinical studiesand community engagement to ensure meaningful translational research and public health and community impact. Our Network will aim to strengthen South-South partnerships, create enabling environments for excellence in research in Africa and train the next-generation leaders of African science. This consortium is specifically focused on HIV and TB as this syndemic' is a public health crisis in Africa that requires the full weight of basic science, translational/clinical research, and political and social mobilization. Although 5% of the world's population lives in Eastern and Southern Africa, they are home to approximately 50% of the world's population living with HIV. 2011 figures list the following prevalence rates in the countries participating in this grant: Kenya 6.2%, Uganda- 7.2%, Zambia- 12.5%, Botswana 23.4%, Rwanda 2.9%, and South Africa 17.3%. As a direct result of the HIV epidemic, TB is now devastating many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional TB statistics for 2012 lists Africa with the highest incidence of 2,300,000 for a population of 892,529,000. HIV can no longer be studied in isolation, and specific research capacity in HIV-TB coinfection also needs to be developed.