The meeting, organised to highlight Wellcome Trust funded initiatives and showcase the latest research in global health, involved a diverse range of presentations from researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and affiliated organisations, including the MRC Unit The Gambia and The Health Research Unit Zimbabwe (THRU ZIM). Themes included nutrition and development; neonatal health; HIV and adolescent health; sexual and reproductive health; TB; and neglected tropical diseases.

Among the researchers was Mandikudza Tembo, Research Fellow and Adolescent theme co-lead at the MARCH Centre. She presented her PhD research on the acceptability and effectiveness of a menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) intervention among women within a community-based setting in Zimbabwe.

Mandi’s research aims to understand and address the knowledge levels, practices, and perceptions around MHH among young women (aged 16-24) in Zimbabwe, acknowledging that there is a large unmet need for comprehensive MHH support within the targeted communities. This involves providing participants with a choice of menstrual products and period tracking diary to investigate menstrual product choice and use, pain management and school or work attendance. The research also pilots a complex MHH intervention designed to address access to MHH education, support, and products including pain medication and destigmatize menstruation, investigating the effect on young women’s menstrual health knowledge, perceptions and pain management over time.

Mandi’s research is nested within the CHIEDZA study, a cluster-randomised trial in Zimbabwe that aims to determine the impact of community-based integrated HIV and sexual and reproductive health services for youth on HIV and other health outcomes.

“Addressing menstrual health needs among young women is integral to bettering their overall well-being. Being able to share the menstrual experiences and product preferences of young women in Zimbabwe on such a big platform has been amazing and I am hopeful that it will lead to needed change in policy and SRH intervention implementation.”

Research degree student, Constancia Vimbayi Mavodza, also presented at the meeting. Her PhD research is a process evaluation of the family planning intervention for young women aged 16-24 years in Zimbabwe – a part of the CHIEDZA trial.

Her research aims to better understand what was implemented, how, why and when this occurred, as well as the mechanisms of change and the context in which this intervention was embedded. Zimbabwe has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancies and a high unmet family planning needs amongst adolescent girls and young women. Her research seeks to illustrate what works (or doesn’t) for whom, when and why to better inform access to, use and delivery of family planning interventions for young women in Zimbabwe. During the meeting, Connie presented some findings from her PhD specifically focused on understanding the family planning needs and experiences of young women living with and without HIV in Zimbabwe.

“We haven’t quite figured out how to address barriers to family planning methods and services for young women in ways that not only improve family planning outcomes in this population cohort, but also values and centres their indigenous experiences and understandings of family planning. While the young women who shared their experiences with me could not take to the stage, I hope I was able to privilege their voices and experiences during this important platform. It was a phenomenal experience that I hope got the audience thinking about how contextualised integrated services can work for young people.”

The Wellcome Trust Bloomsbury Centre for Global Health Research was established in 1995 as the Bloomsbury Centre for Clinical Tropical Medicine, a partnership between the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the Institute of Child Health at University College London (UCL).  It was later joined by Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University London, the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, and St George’s University London.

Scientific meetings are held every two years and bring together research fellows, their supervisors and collaborators with members of the Centre steering group and representatives of the Wellcome Trust. Presentations are given by fellows and collaborators on their current research and have led to collaboration between fellows based in different countries and different host institutions.

Learn more about the Wellcome Trust – Bloomsbury Centre for Global Health Research.