The ALPHA Network
The ALPHA network aims to maximise the usefulness of data generated in community-based longitudinal HIV studies in sub-Saharan Africa for national and international agencies involved in designing or monitoring interventions and epidemiological forecasting.
About the ALPHA network
The ALPHA network aims to maximise the usefulness of data generated in community-based longitudinal HIV studies in sub-Saharan Africa for national and international agencies involved in designing or monitoring interventions and epidemiological forecasting.
The project began in 2005 and links existing African HIV cohort studies and runs training workshops to facilitate replication of analyses of demographic correlates and consequences of HIV infection. Comparative studies and meta-analyses are undertaken on comparable data sets, imposing a common format on data collected and stored in a variety of ways. The activities of the network are centred around workshops, each of which concentrates on a particular analytical theme. The workshops held to date, and those currently being planned are listed on the right.
The ALPHA network is funded by The Wellcome Trust and is in its second phase (2010-15). We have additional funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to investigate the pattern of mortality among HIV positive adults in Eastern and Southern Africa in the era of antiretroviral therapy. We collaborate with The HIV modelling Consortium. The network is coordinated by the Department of Population Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
ALPHA members
| Country | Joined | Site | Short name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya | 2010 | Nairobi urban cohort sudy operated by the Africa Population Health Research Centre | APHRC |
| Kenya | 2010 | CDC/KEMRI study site in Kisumu | Kisumu |
| Malawi | 2005 | Karonga Prevention Study in Northern Malawi managed by LSHTM | Karonga |
| South Africa | 2005 | Umkhanyakude cohort in Habisa district managed by the Africa Centre in KwaZulu Natal | uMkhanyakude |
| South Africa | 2010 | Agincourt study in Mpumalanga Province | Agincourt |
| Tanzania | 2005 | Kisesa open cohort managed by the TAZAMA programme at NIMR (Mwanza) | Kisesa |
| Tanzania | 2010 | Kilombero cohort operated by the Ifakara Health Institute | Ifakara |
| Uganda | 2005 | Kyamulibwa general population cohort managed by MRC/UVRI in Masaka district | Masaka |
| Uganda | 2006 | Rakai study, managed by Makerere University and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health | Rakai |
| Zimbabwe | 2005 | Manicaland Study in Eastern Zimbabwe managed by Imperial College and the Blair Research Training Institute | Manicaland |
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