Targeting rising HIV risk groups in rural South Africa during COVID-19
Official title: The changing face of HIV in the era of COVID-19: Maximising HIV incidence reduction through dynamic targeting of current and future distributions of acquisition risk.
Funded at Stellenbosch University · NIH-11489951 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will find which people and places in rural KwaZulu-Natal are now most at risk of getting HIV so prevention can be aimed where it will help the most.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stellenbosch University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stellenbosch, SOUTH AFRICA) |
| Project start | March 1, 2023 |
| Project end | December 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $159,588 |
| NIH project number | 3R01MH131480-04S2 |
| Project ID | NIH-11489951 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People living in rural KwaZulu-Natal and similar high HIV-burden communities in South Africa—especially those in newly identified age, sex, or location risk groups—would be the primary candidates for participation or program benefits.
✕Less likely to help
People who live outside the study area or who are already fully engaged in effective prevention and treatment programs are less likely to see direct benefit from this grant's activities.
What this research studies
If I live in rural KwaZulu-Natal, the team will use long-running community health data from the Africa Health Research Institute to spot changes in who is getting infected with HIV over time and space. They will look at effects of COVID-19 disruptions and the shift to new antiretroviral drugs to identify new vulnerable age, sex, and location groups. Using these findings, the researchers plan to design combination prevention approaches that focus on those emerging high-risk groups. The goal is to enable programs to reach people who are now being missed by current efforts.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could help direct prevention and treatment to the people and areas most likely to get HIV, lowering new infections and improving care where it is needed.
How similar studies have gone: Past efforts to expand treatment and prevention have cut infections, and targeted approaches have shown promise, but using dynamic, geography- and age-specific targeting in the COVID-19 era is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch, South Africa Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Tanser, Frank Courteney — Stellenbosch University
- Study coordinator: Tanser, Frank Courteney
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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.