Health of children exposed to HIV before birth
Official title: CHERISH (Children HIV Exposed Uninfected Research to Inform Survival and Health)
Funded at Stellenbosch University · NIH-11117080 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project compares long-term survival, hospital visits, growth, and development in children born to mothers with HIV but who are themselves uninfected versus children not exposed to HIV in South Africa.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stellenbosch University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stellenbosch, SOUTH AFRICA) |
| Project start | August 29, 2020 |
| Project end | June 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $299,266 |
| NIH project number | 5R33HD103093-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11117080 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are children born in the Western Cape province between 2018 and 2024, especially those born to mothers with HIV but who are uninfected, whose routine health records can be linked and whose caregivers agree to any extra follow-up.
✕Less likely to help
People living outside the Western Cape, children born outside the 2018–2024 window, or children who are HIV-infected are not the main focus and are unlikely to be included or benefit directly.
What this research studies
If your child was born in the Western Cape between 2018 and 2024, they may be included as part of a province-wide group whose routine health records are linked across hospitals and clinics. Researchers will compare hospitalizations, growth measurements, and neurodevelopment over time between children who were exposed to HIV in utero but are uninfected (HEU) and children unexposed to HIV (HUU). The project includes more detailed follow-up at two sentinel sites plus smaller detailed and light-touch cohorts to collect information not always present in routine records. Modern epidemiologic and statistical methods will be used to find patterns that could help guide better care for HEU children.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify specific health or developmental needs of children exposed to HIV before birth and inform better follow-up and services for them.
How similar studies have gone: Smaller local and international studies have suggested possible health and developmental differences for HEU children, but a province-wide, long-term linked-record approach like this is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch, South Africa Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Tomlinson, Mark — Stellenbosch University
- Study coordinator: Tomlinson, Mark
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.