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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 credit: 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.

  • AHISA 6th Annual Meeting
    March 2—3, 2022, Virtual
    Objectives: Reflect on the small awards contribution to implementation science collaborations and capacity; consider factors and opportunities related to sustainability; and develop next steps for the Alliance.
  • Joint AHISA, PATC3H, AGYM Forum
    February 8—9, 2022, Virtual
    Objectives: Explore the implementation science (IS) questions related to upcoming innovations and existing challenges for adolescent HIV; reflect on identified IS determinants, outcomes, and strategies from across the networks
  • Joint AHISA, PATC3H, AGYM Forum
    February 16—17, 2021, Virtual
    Objectives: Learn about utility of adaptive study designs; think collectively of COVID on adolescent HIV, and to reflect on the role of dissemination and sustainability in implementation science.
  • AHISA 5th Annual Meeting
    February 11—12, 2021, Virtual
    Objectives: To reflect on small awards contributions to sustainability and implementation science collaborations and networks; to think collectively about the COVID pandemic on program and research and the role of implementation science; and to consider the role of behavioral economics in AHISA-related research.
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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.
  • 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.

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
    Years: 2019, 2020
    Principal Investigator: Edith Apondi, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital
  • Adolescents in Research Toolkit
    Location: Sub-Saharan Africa
    Year: 2019
    Principal Investigator: Linda-Gail Bekker
  • Uganda Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance
    Location: Uganda
    Year: 2019; 2020
    Principal Investigator: Moses Kamya, Makerere University and Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration (2019); Fred Semitala, Makerere University (2020)
  • African Youth Implementation Science Alliance
    Location: East and South Africa
    Year: 2019
    Principal Investigator: Kawango Agot, Impact Research Institute
  • Zambia Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance
    Location: Zambia
    Years: 2019; 2020
    Principal Investigator: Michael Mbizvo, Population Council, Zambia
  • Central and West Africa Implementation Science Alliance
    Location: Central and West Africa
    Years: 2019, 2020
    Principal Investigator: Nadia Sam-Agudu, University of Maryland, Baltimore
  • South African Adolescent HIV Implementation Science Alliance – AHI(SA)2
    Location: South Africa
    Year: 2019, 2020
    Principal Investigator: Moherndran Archary, University of KwaZulu-Natal (2019); Brian Zanoni, Emory University (2020)
  • PrEP SMART – AGYW (Adolescent Girls and Young Women)
    Location: South Africa
    Year: 2020
    Principal Investigator: Makhosazane Khoza, Wits University
  • iTRAIN Nigeria
    Location: Nigeria
    Year: 2020
    Principal Investigator: Kehinde Kuti, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
  • IS Research to reach Out-of-School, AGYW with HIV Prevention & Livelihood Training
    Location: Tanzania
    Year: 2020
    Principal Investigator: Thespina (Nina) Yamanis, American University
  • Adolescent HIV Care During COVID-19 Pandemic
    Location: Kenya
    Year: 2020
    Principal Investigator: Kristin Beima-Sofie, University of Washington

Alliance Members

  • NIH PI: Kristin Beima-Sofie, University of Washington
    Partner: Irene Njuguna, Kenyatta National Hospital
    Country of focus: Kenya

  • NIH PI: Linda-Gail Bekker, Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation 
    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 
    Partner: Edith Apondi, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital
    Partner: Judy Wachira, Moi University
    Country of focus: Kenya

  • NIH PI: Connie Celum, University of Washington 
    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 
    Partner: Christopher Okoth Obong'o, PATH
    Partner: Rosemarie Muganda-Onyando, PATH
    Country of focus: Kenya

  • NIH PI: Julie Denison, John Hopkins University 
    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 
    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 
    Partner: Nyasatu Chamba, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center
    Partner: Aisa Shayo, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center
    Country of focus: Tanzania

  • NIH PI: Robert Garofalo, Northwestern University 
    Partner: Kehinde Kuti, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
    Country of focus: Nigeria

  • NIH PI: Simon Gregson, Imperial College London 
    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 
    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)
    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
    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
    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
    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 
    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 
    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 
    Partner: Kathleen Kahn, University of Witwaterstrand
    Country of focus: South Africa

  • NIH PI: Sarah Tyler Roberts, RTI International
    Partner: Kawango Agot, Impact Research and Development Organization
    Partner: Joyce Boke, Impact Research and Development
    Country of focus: Kenya

  • NIH PI: Nora Rosenberg, University of North Carolina
    Partner: Twambilile Phanga, University of North Carolina (UNC) Project Lilongwe, Malawi
    Country of focus: Malawi

  • NIH PI: Nadia Sam-Agudu, University of Maryland, Baltimore 
    Partner: Victoria Isiramen, UNICEF Nigeria
    Partner: Ayodotun Olutola, Nigeria Implementation Science Alliance
    Country of focus: Nigeria

  • NIH PI: Maryam Shahmanesh, University College London 
    Partner: Natsayi Chimbindi, Africa Health Research Institute
    Country of focus: South Africa

  • NIH PI: Fred Ssewamala, Washington University in St. Louis 
    Partner: Abel Mwebembezi, Reach the Youth Uganda
    Partner: Gertrude Nakigozi, Rakai Health Sciences Program
    Country of focus: Uganda

  • NIH PI: Sujha Subramanian, RTI International 
    Partner: Michael Mbizvo, Population Council, Zambia
    Partner: Maurice Musheke, Population Council, Zambia
    Country of focus: Zambia

  • NIH PI: Thespina Jeanne Yamanis, American University 
    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 
    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)
  • Eric Goosby, University of California - San Francisco
  • Judith (Judy) Wasserheit, University of Washington
  • Kate Plourde, USAID

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 April 5, 2022