PATH receives major award from the Canadian International Development Agency
Contact:
Amy MacIver, 206.788.2021, amaciver@path.org
Three-year, $17 million project focuses on enhancing HIV prevention programs through evidence-based practice
Seattle, WA, April 20, 2009—PATH today announced a US$17 million grant from the Canadian International Development Agency to strengthen HIV-prevention efforts through rigorous research and evaluation of the effectiveness of strategies. HIV prevention has proven challenging, and there is a recognized need for a range of approaches including behavioral, structural, biomedical, community-based, and service-based interventions in different settings around the world. Also critical is the need to strengthen evidence around the cost-effectiveness of different interventions.
“This is a special opportunity to strengthen our knowledge base about which strategies are the most effective in different contexts, taking cost into consideration as well,” said Dr. Julie Pulerwitz, project director and program leader of the HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis global program at PATH.
The objective of the program is to avert HIV infections among populations at high risk by focusing on assessing how HIV-prevention strategies reduce risks for exposure and incidence in specific contexts. The program will support implementation of select HIV-prevention approaches worldwide that are predicted to be cost-effective. This will be done in tandem with support for local research partners and a strong evaluation component aimed at assessing the ultimate impact of these approaches in averting infections. PATH will look into a wide range of promising programmatic strategies that may include, but would not be limited to: prevention of mother-to-child transmission, behavior change, community mobilization, and voluntary or provider-initiated testing and counseling aimed at reaching different vulnerable populations.