Investigators Lead International Databases to Evaluate AIDS in West Africa

Dr. Noelle Benzekri, assistant professor, is Program Lead for Sociobehavioral Research and Dr. Geoffrey Gottlieb, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is Co-Investigator for the NIH/NIAD funded U01 International Epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS in West Africa (IeDEA-West Africa).

In collaboration with colleagues at the University of Bordeaux and partners across West Africa, this study will use mixed-methods to evaluate cohorts of HIV and HIV-TB co-infected individuals in 8 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo.

The overarching goal of this study is to identify strategies to improve the HIV care cascade in the region. Dr. Benzekri will also be leading the new IeDEA-West Africa Food Insecurity Research Program.