Preparing for Phase III vaginal micobicide trials in Rwanda and Kenya : preparedness studies, capacity building and strengthening of medical referral systems

The main aim is to conduct cross-sectional HIV incidence surveys in Kigali and Mombasa using BED and Avidity Index (AI) testing, to estimate HIV incidence in potential microbicide trial target populations. Secondly, this project aims to establish cohorts of high-risk women in Kigali and Mombasa, after expanding community outreach into high-risk populations, to measure incidence of HIV, reproductive tract infections (RTIs) and pregnancy. A third objective is to improve the microbicide trial capacity in Kigali and Mombasa by strengthening the clinical, laboratory, and data management infrastructure, local ethics committees and reproductive health referral systems and by staff development.