More than 80 health research professionals are due to meet in the Kenyan capital Nairobi from June 18-20 to develop leadership and excellence among African institutions.The three-day meeting hosted by the International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) will bring together health researchers and administrators from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Britain. The meeting will be hosted under the auspices of a consortium, the Training of Health Researchers into Vocational Excellence in East Africa (THRiVE) “The meeting will discuss some of the studies on the risky behaviours and HIV rates among fishing communities around Lake Victoria, Uganda; and the suitability of HIV-1 vaccine efficacy studies,” the Nairobi-based ICIPE said in a statement issued on Monday. THRiVE is one of seven partnerships initiated in 2009 through a grant of 46 million U. S. dollars from the Welcome Trust under the African Institutions Initiative, which simultaneously aims to develop leadership and excellence among African professionals and institutions while reversing the trend of North-driven research agenda in the South. The THRiVE consortium is led by Makerere University, Uganda, and in addition to ICIPE, other institutions involved include Gulu University and Virus Research Institute in Uganda; Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College and the National Institute for Medical Research from Tanzania; the National University of Rwanda and Britain’s London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University of Cambridge.The statement said research on the rates of anaemia in pregnant women comparing selected post conflict and non post conflict regions in Uganda will also be among the topics to be discussed during the conference. The researchers said prevalence of HIV-1 subtypes and disease progression among individuals on antiretroviral treatment in northern Tanzania will also feature in the conference.
