Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance (AHISA)

The Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance (AHISA) aims to enhance the effective use of evidence and help overcome implementation challenges related to prevention, screening and treatment of HIV among adolescents (ages 15 to 24) in sub-Saharan Africa by catalyzing collaboration and communication among implementation scientists, program implementers and policymakers. The Center for Global Health Studies at Fogarty launched the initiative in collaboration with the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator and other NIH Institutes and Centers.

The goals of the Alliance are to:

provide a platform for cross-fertilization and exchange of ideas and information among implementation scientists and other stakeholders focusing on different aspects of HIV in adolescents;
enable the research to be better informed by programmatic challenges and questions;
inform policymakers of promising evidence and encourage use of the data in decision making; and
extend the reach and impact of implementation science related to adolescent HIV prevention and treatment.

Annual Forum | Small Project Awards | Members | Steering Committee

Alliance Annual Forum

Courtesy of istock, Two African girls look at camera, one is writing

Photo by borgogniels/istock/Thinkstock

The Alliance convenes a forum that enables the exchange of ideas, insights and experiences in understanding factors that drive uptake and adherence to adolescent HIV prevention and treatment strategies to bridge the gap between research, programs and policy. Forum participants will include NIH-funded scientists conducting relevant implementation research; and in-country partners including PEPFAR in-country staff, key in-country government representatives, in-country research collaborators, and other stakeholders. The forum expects to meet twice per year over two years, with meeting locations that rotate between the U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa.

Inaugural AHISA Forum
May 2017, Bethesda, MD
Goal: To exchange ideas and information among the members, identify the most significant challenges to implementing proven interventions for prevention and treatment of HIV among adolescents, and collectively set goals and next steps for AHISA.
Implementation Science Training
January 2018, Johannesburg, South Africa
Goal: To provide Alliance members with an in-depth overview of the theory, operational and evaluation approaches to implementation science; methods to assess barriers in implementation science and strategies/tools to overcome them; and options for dissemination of results.
Stakeholder Engagement and Implementation Science Training
February 2019, Kampala, Uganda
Goal: To explore strategies for stakeholder engagement and strengthen the perspective of policy-makers and program implementers within the context of AHISA and to build capacity in implementation science methods and application.
Joint AHISA/PATC3H/AGYW Forum
February 2020, Cape Town, South Africa
Goal: To identify the most significant challenges to implementing proven interventions for prevention and treatment of HIV among adolescents; provide participants with approaches to implementation science; and explore opportunities for collaboration among participants, including the Prevention and Treatment through a Comprehensive Care Continuum for HIV-affected Adolescents in Resource Constrained Settings (PATC³H) and NIH Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) in sub-Saharan Africa grantees.

Alliance Small Project Awards

To further enhance the quality of HIV prevention and health care for adolescents through implementation science, AHISA developed awarded seven small collaborative contracts with the goal of catalyzing long-term and sustainable region-/country-specific collaborations that respond to local issues and increase implementation science capacity across the region. The Alliance invited proposals to support one of the following: 1) in-country implementation science alliance development workshops; or 2) in- country implementation science capacity building activities. Eligibility was limited to current AHISA members.

Kenya Adolescent HIV Implementation Science Alliance
Location: Kenya
Principle Investigator: Edith Apondi, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital
Adolescents in Research Toolkit
Location: Sub-Saharan Africa
Principle Investigator: Linda-Gail Bekker
Uganda Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance
Location: Uganda
Principle Investigator: Moses Kamya, Makerere University and Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration
African Youth Implementation Science Alliance
Location: East and South Africa
Principle Investigator: Kawango Agot, Impact Research Institute
Zambia Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance
Location: Zambia
Principle Investigator: Michael Mbizvo, Population Council, Zambia
Central and West Africa Implementation Science Alliance
Location: Central and West Africa
Principle Investigator: Nadia Sam-Agudu, University of Maryland, Baltimore
South African Adolescent HIV Implementation Science Alliance
Location: South Africa
Principle Investigator: Moherndran Archary, University of KwaZulu-Natal

Alliance Members

NIH PI: Kristin Beima-Sofie, University of Washington [Related NIH grant]
Partner: Irene Njuguna, Kenyatta National Hospital
Country of focus: Kenya
NIH PI: Linda-Gail Bekker, Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Nadia Ahmed, Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation
Partner: Marc Cotton, Stellenbosch University Tygerberg Campus
Partner: Landon Meyer, University of Capetown
Country of focus: South Africa
NIH PI: Paula Brantstein, University of Toronto [Related NIH grant]
Partner: Edith Apondi, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital
Partner: Judy Wachira, Moi University
Country of focus: Kenya
NIH PI: Connie Celum, University of Washington [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Linda-Gail Bekker, University of Cape Town
Partner: Sinead Delany-Moretlwe, University of Witwatersrand
County of focus: South Africa
NIH PI: Ying Qing Chen, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Christopher Okoth Obong'o, PATH
Partner: Rosemarie Muganda-Onyando, PATH
Country of focus: Kenya
NIH PI: Julie Denison, John Hopkins University [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Sam Miti, Arthur Davison Children’s Hospital
Partner: Jonathan Mwansa, Arthur Davison Children’s Hospital
Country of focus: Zambia
NIH PI: Geri Donenberg, University of Illinois, Chicago [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Brenda Asiimwe-Kateera, AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Partner: Millicent Atujuna, Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation / University of Cape Town
Partner: Sabin Nsanzimana, Ministry of Health, Rwanda
Country of focus: Rwanda
NIH PI: Dorothy Dow, Duke University Medical Center [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Nyasatu Chamba, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center
Partner: Aisa Shayo, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center
Country of focus: Tanzania
NIH PI: Robert Garofalo, Northwestern University [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Kehinde Kuti, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Country of focus: Nigeria
NIH PI: Simon Gregson, Imperial College London [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Constance Anesu Nyamukapa, Imperial College London
Partner: Owen Mugurungi, Ministry of Health and Child Care, Zimbabwe
Country of focus: Zimbabwe
NIH PI: Juliet Iwelunmor, Saint Louis University [Related NIH grant]
Partner: Oliver Ezechi, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research
Partner: Joseph Tucker, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Country of focus: Nigeria
NIH PI: Moses Kamya, Makerere University and Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration (IDRC) [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Fred Collins Semitala, Makerere University Joint AIDS Program/Makerere University College of Health Sciences
Partner: Eleanor Namusoke-Magongo, Ministry of Health, AIDS Control Program
Country of focus: Uganda
NIH PI: Pamela Kohler, University of Washington [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Grace John-Stewart, University of Washington
Partner: Dalton Wamalwa, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Country of focus: Kenya
NIH PI: Ann Kurth, Yale University School of Nursing [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Kawango Agot, Impact Research Institute
Partner: Irene Inwani, Kenyatta National Hospital
Country of focus: Kenya
NIH PI: Marguerita Lightfoot, University of California, San Francisco [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Megan Dunbar, Pangaea Global AIDS and Zimbabwe AIDS Trust
Partner: Felix Muhlanga, University of Zimbabwe
Country of focus: Zimbabwe
NIH PI: Elizabeth Lowenthal, University of Pennsylvania [Related NIH grant]
Partner: Mogomotsi Matshaba, Botswana-Baylor Children’s Centre of Excellence
Partner: Thabo Phologolo, University of Botswana
Country of focus: Botswana
NIH PI: LaRon Nelson, University of Rochester [Related NIH grant]
Partner: Patrick Appiah, Youth Alliance on Health and Rights
Partner: Francis Boakye, Priorities on Rights and Sexual Health (PORSH)
Partner: Abubakar Manu, University of Ghana
Country of focus: Ghana
NIH PI: Audrey Pettifor, University of North Carolina [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Kathleen Kahn, University of Witwaterstrand
Country of focus: South Africa
NIH PI: Sarah Tyler Roberts, RTI International [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Kawango Agot, Impact Research and Development Organization
Partner: Careena Otieno, Impact Research and Development Organization
Country of focus: Kenya
NIH PI: Nora Rosenberg, University of North Carolina [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Twambilile Phanga, University of North Carolina (UNC) Project Lilongwe, Malawi
Country of focus: Malawi
NIH PI: Nadia Sam-Agudu, University of Maryland, Baltimore [Related NIH grant]
Partner: Victoria Isiramen, UNICEF Nigeria
Partner: Ayodotun Olutola, Nigeria Implementation Science Alliance
Country of focus: Nigeria
NIH PI: Maryam Shahmanesh, University College London [Related NIH grant]
Partner: Natsayi Chimbindi, Africa Health Research Institute
Country of focus: South Africa
NIH PI: Fred Ssewamala, Washington University in St. Louis [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Abel Mwebembezi, Reach the Youth Uganda
Partner: Gertrude Nakigozi, Rakai Health Sciences Program
Country of focus: Uganda
NIH PI: Sujha Subramanian, RTI International [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Michael Mbizvo, Population Council, Zambia
Partner: Maurice Musheke, Population Council, Zambia
Country of focus: Zambia
NIH PI: Thespina Jeanne Yamanis, American University [Related NIH grant]
Partner: Lusajo Joel Kajula, UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti
Partner: Mrema Noel Kilonzo, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences
Country of focus: Tanzania
NIH PI: Brian Zanoni, Massachusetts General Hospital [Related NIH grants]
Partner: Thobekile Sibaya, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Country of focus: South Africa

Alliance Steering Committee

Susannah Allison, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) at NIH
Wole Ameyan, World Health Organization (WHO)
Melanie Bacon, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at NIH
Linda-Gail Bekker, Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation
Laura Guay, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Sonia Lee, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at NIH
Chewe Luo, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Pragna Patel, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Natalie Tomitch, Office of AIDS Research (OAR) at NIH
Damilola Walker, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Heather Watts, Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC)

Inquiries

Rachel Sturke, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.I.A.Deputy Director and Senior Scientist
Center for Global Health Studies
Fogarty Division of International Science Policy, Planning and Evaluation
Email: Rachel.Sturke@nih.gov
Susan Vorkoper, M.P.H., M.S.W.Global Health Research and Policy Analyst
Fogarty Division of International Science Policy, Planning and Evaluation
Email: Susan.Vorkoper@nih.gov

Updated January 2020