COMPLETED PROJECTS

This study is to carry out analyses of dried blood spot specimens collected during the Nigeria AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS). NAIIS is one of the largest household surveys ever conducted with over 200,000 respondents. Dried blood spots were collected from more than 205,000 individuals who gave their consent for storage and further testing of these specimens. The study will analyse these specimens using a multiplex bead-based laboratory assay. The multiplex laboratory enables testing for antibody presence for multiple diseases including malaria, vaccine-preventable diseases, neglected tropical diseases, and others in a single test run.

This study examines awareness about Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis and willingness to use it among Men who have Sex with Men (MSM). The study, which is part of the PEPFAR Nigeria program to expand use of PrEP, has run from March 2017 till date.

Findings so far have shown that, prior discussion with healthcare workers about PrEP was significantly associated with increased PrEP awareness. Having a larger sexual network was associated with decreased PrEP awareness.  Also, feeling ashamed/embarrassed to use PrEP was associated with decreased willingness to use it. Most MSM in this cohort had no prior knowledge of PrEP. Perceived stigma associated with PrEP use may impact its uptake within this vulnerable community. Efforts, potentially through network interventions, are needed to educate and destigmatize PrEP use to reduce HIV transmission.

This study plans to identify, and characterize the burden of Non-Communicable Diseases among clients newly diagnosed with HIV while capturing the risk factors that individuals may be exposed to. Study objectives are;

1. To measure the prevalence and incidence of non-communicable disease such as hypertension, diabetes, cancers and chronic respiratory diseases among a cohort of clients diagnosed with HIV.
2. To characterize and explore clinical, behavioral and psychosocial risk factors of non-communicable diseases among HIV positive clients.

• To assess participants retention rates and willingness to participate in future HIV prevention and cure research

The study is funded by ISN Products Nigeria Ltd with Professor Alash’le Abimiku as Principal Investigator.

This study, which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is an effort to scale up capacity for integrated sero-surveillance in Africa using stored samples from Nigeria’s HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS). The objectives of this study are,

1. Support the Multiplex Bead Assay (MBA) laboratory at the Nigeria Centers for Disease Control (NCDC) National Reference Laboratory (NRL) to test stored NAIIS specimens and to collect, store and analyse results.
2. Support technical assistance and capacity building efforts on the MBA technology, and develop a set of tools to assist other countries embarking on integrated surveillance.

• Support dissemination of results and availability of data to inform public health programming in Nigeria.

BEGET

The BEGET- Diagnostic Thresholds for Diabetes and Prediabetes in HIV infected is to identify appropriate HbA1c and fructosamine diagnostic thresholds for diabetes and prediabetes, based on strata of hemoglobin and other biomarker levels, among persons living with HIV (PLHIV).

Findings from the BEGET study are expected to inform the development of guidelines for the optimal use of glycated testing tools among PLHIV. Successful deployment of these at HIV care and treatment settings will enhance screening and early detection of diabetes and prediabetes in this population. The research is being conducted at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital.

Principal Investigator: Dr. Jibreel Jumare

Project Funders and collaborators: NIH/UMB

Project Duration: 2023-2025

This study seeks to evaluate the prevalence of malaria parasitemia among blood donors donating blood to children 0-10 years in Abuja, Nigeria. It is funded by the International Society for Blood Transfusion.

CAWISA

The Central and West Africa Implementation Science Alliance (CAWISA) is a regional African research consortium established to facilitate research by indigenous scientists of highest standards to solve West and Central Africa’s most pressing public health problems.

CAWISA spans four focus countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). These countries are regional hotspots of adolescent HIV infection, malaria, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, and non-communicable diseases. They have also experienced recent outbreaks of COVID-19 and Ebola.

The consortium focuses on the following:

• Research productivity and impact: local relevance and applicability of data generated from implementation science research disseminated in several published papers.
• Strategic partnerships with a commitment to fund and carry out research that will drive the adoption of evidence-based practices for improved health outcomes.
• Leadership and vision: dedicated scientific mentorship and demonstrable expertise in implementation science research.
• Scholars & mentors: Engaging individuals committed to scientific advancements, diligent in scholarship and integrity, and willing to continuously pay it forward.
• Sustained funding: Prioritize consistency in pursuing and winning grants to achieve collective goals. CAWISA aims to secure multi-year awards to keep the alliance active and impactful in the West and Central African region and beyond.

For more information, visit http://cawisa-afr.org/

This Positive Peer-to-Peer (3P) US National Institutes of Health (NIH) study on Adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) in Nigeria will enable partnership with 16 health facilities with high proportions ALHIV. It will examine the effectiveness and impact of using a WhatsApp® group to deliver structured, on-demand continuing education and real time mentoring for ALHIV peer educators in Nigeria.

Our pilot study revealed that a WhatsApp® platform could be a readily accessible, cost-efficient, complementary medium for mentoring and educating adolescent lay workers in clinics and communities. This is because they provide psychosocial support and linkages for their peers and families. This grant will expand the access of adolescents to the group and help to overcome sociocultural, geographic and security barriers associated with traditional face-to-face or telephone mentoring in Nigeria.

Study Principal Investigator is Dr. Emilia Iwu.

Hepatitis B PROJECT

The Human Genetic determinants of HBV recovery (Hepatitis B Project) is investigating the host genetic basis or human genetics determinants for spontaneous recovery from Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). The project is to ascertain the proportion of Nigerian women who are Hepatitis B and C positive who might be asymptomatic and advise/link them to go for treatment and create awareness for Hepatitis B disease and the need for screening and vaccinations while unravelling the human genetics determinants for spontaneous recovery from Hepatitis B Virus.

It is being implemented in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Nasarawa state. The Principal Investigator is Prof Clement Adebamowo and the Nigerian Principal Investigator is Mr Ayo Famooto

The project is funded by NIH/ John Hopkins and the project’s duration is from 2022-2025.

RISE

The Resilient HIV Implementation Science with Sexual and Gender Minority Youths using Evidence (RISE) project intends to adapt the HMP app towards improving HIV Prevention and Care among the Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) youth aged 15-24. It focuses on improving utilization of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis and Antiretroviral Treatment specifically targeting young men who have sex with men (YMSM) and young transgender women (YTW). RISE is a multi-country study with implementation presence in Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya, and Malawi.

The project objectives include:

• Coordinating collaborative coalition between clinical research performing sites (CRPSs), community-based HIV service providers (CBSPs), youth advisory boards (YABs), and health ministries to maximize reach.
• Adapt the HMP app and assess system-level readiness to integrate HMP, a digital health intervention to address the PHCC among SGM youth, guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).

The study is a Phase III randomized control trial utilizing a Type 2 effectiveness-implementation hybrid design. A total of 750 participants will be randomly assigned to the HMP exposure while the other 750 participants will have delayed access to HMP. The study will enroll a total of 1,500 eligible participants within 24 months, and the randomization will occur at study enrollment.

Project PIP -POLICE INITIATED PEP . Click for more

The USAID/Nigeria Tuberculosis Local Organization Network (TB-LON) project seeks to rapidly find and treat people infected with tuberculosis. Click for more

The study provided information on whether the benefits of initiating ART at CD4+ cell counts above 500 cells/mm3 outweigh the risks. The international randomized trial determined that starting ART early reduces the occurrence of serious morbidity and mortality. START began enrolment in April 2009 and involved 35 countries including Nigeria with IHVN anchoring the study in the country.

MARGIN study focused on determining microbiome diversity of children who are HIV exposed and uninfected, and those who are HIV exposed and infected. It was a longitudinal study of the impact of maternal microbiota on changes in infants gastrointestinal microbiota during the first 24 months of life among 150 HIV- unexposed uninfected children (HIV-EU) and 150 HIV-unexposed children. It is estimated that 15% of all infants born in sub-Saharan Africa are HIV-EU.

Findings from the MARGIN Study include;

• In contrast to the mostly consistent microbial communities identified in the mothers, the microbiomes of HIV-exposed, uninfected and HIV-unexposed, uninfected infants showed striking differences based on the mother’s status
• At 6 months post-partum: α-diversity (Shannon index) in the meconium/stool of HEU infants is significantly higher, when compared to HUU infants. Trend towards higher diversity in HEU infants is maintained when adjusted for cotrimoxazole prophylaxis and breastfeeding.
• The bacterial community composition of the infants’ meconium and stool changed over time, and correlated to the mother’s HIV status. HUU infants had more abundant populations of Bifidobacteriaceae and Enterococcaceae, whereas HEU infants had more Ruminococcaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, and Enterobacteriaceae in their stools.

NICCAV, funded by the Canadian Global Health Research Initiative (GHRI) was implemented from October 2010 through December 2014 to build capacity for HIV vaccine research in Nigeria. The study whose Principal Investigator was, Dr. Alash’le Abimiku, built local capacity to implement vaccine trial in Nigerian by addressing three core objectives.

1. Developing Capacity for HIV Vaccine Research and Oversight
2. Vaccine Cohort Development & Community Engagement
3. Building Laboratory Capacity to Support HIV Vaccine Trials

NICCAV study has provided a platform for future collaboration/partnerships with funders for a future HIV prevention trial in Nigeria.

Strengthening Human Resource for Health-Pre Service (SPEARHEAD) Program.

Strengthening Human Resource for Health-Pre Service (SPEARHEAD) Program was a Pre-Service training grant funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to increase and improve the capacity of Nigerian Nurses, Midwives, Doctors, Community Health Workers and Public Health Practitioners to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nigeria.

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The program supported the review and updating of HIV/AIDS curricula for Nursing /Midwifery Schools, Colleges of Health Technology, Residency Training Programs and Postgraduate degrees in Public Health.

The program also trained institutional trainers and mentors for effective delivery of the new curricula through capacity building in HIV care and management, adult learning techniques and clinical mentorship. SPEARHEAD supported capacity building in continuous quality improvement, leadership and program management for students and tutors.

It was implemented at 18 Schools of Nursing, 17 Schools of Midwifery,17 Schools of Health technology,12 Teaching Hospitals and 6 Schools of Public Health in Nigeria. At least 777 tutors and 2, 135 students were trained through the program.

In-patient Treatment with Anti-Coronavirus Immunoglobulin (ITAC) study is an international multi-center trial of the safety, tolerability and efficacy of anti-coronavirus hyper-immune intravenous immunoglobulin (hIVIG) for the treatment of adult hospitalized patients at the onset of clinical progression of COVID-19.

This trial will compare (hIVIG) with matched placebo while Remdesivir will be given to both arms of the study as part of routine care. The aim of the study is to evaluate the potential efficacy of the hIVIG (antibodies) as a potential treatment approach for preventing further disease progression and mortality related to COVID-19.

In future versions of the protocol one or more drugs from a different class and with different mechanisms of action may be studied and compared with other ongoing clinical trials. Such treatments could be studied along with hIVIG if it is found effective and safe in the initial phase of the study.

IHVN will be implementing this trial in 2 of our long term collaborating sites namely National Hospital Abuja and University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) with support from the Nigeria COVID-19 Research Consortium (NCRC). Patients will be recruited and consented from the hospital isolation centers. Hopefully, this study will provide a platform for research into new areas of infectious disease study and establish collaboration with more global partners.

The Principal Investigator of the Nigerian Study Site is Dr Eriobu Nnakelu. The ITAC Nigerian team will be supervised by the International Coordinating Center (ICC) overseeing other countries such as Japan, Israel, Argentina and Thailand. ITAC is funded by the US National Institute of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and is planned to last for 1 year or less depending on the rate of participant recruitment.

Strategic HIV and AIDS Response Program (SHARP) Nigeria Project

The Strategic HIV and AIDS Response Program (SHARP) Task Order 3 project is a USAID funded project addressing HIV in Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Yobe, Borno and Adamawa States Nigeria by providing HIV prevention, care and treatment services. It is run from 2020 to 2022. Click Here for more.

The Action to Control HIV Epidemic through Evidence (ACHIEVE) project that we implement is funded by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC)

The foot prints of our impact in improving the health care system is indelibly planted across the country where we have worked and currently work in implementing several health programs.

The Action to Control HIV Epidemic through Evidence (ACHIEVE) project that we implement is funded by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC)

The project is currently focused in four states, Nasarawa State, Rivers State, Kastina State and the Federal Capital Territory. It provides the following services in the health facilities that we support.

• HIV Testing Services (HTS)
• Laboratory diagnosis and tracking of status of people living with HIV
• Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV
• Anti-retroviral Treatment (ART) for adult and children (including pregnant women)
• Care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS and people affected by HIV/AIDS
• Monitoring and evaluation of patients and program progress.
• Support to Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC),
• Gender-Based Violence (GBV) support services
• Training in all the above areas.

The study aims to support the establishment of HIV-1 recent infection surveillance using the Rapid Test for Recent Infection (RTRI) in Nigeria. RTRI will be used to provide continuous epidemiological data on person, geographical location, and time of newly diagnosed individuals to inform HIV prevention and control strategies in Nigeria.

The RTRI will be introduced into routine HIV testing services (HTS) as a supplementary test for clients who are positive on the Determine Test as part of the National Testing Algorithm. Those who are RTRI recent will additionally receive a viral load test to confirm their recent infection status. The initial phase will cover 135 health facilities in five states, including Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos, Benue, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers states. The second phase will be a scale-up to additional 40 health facilities across three states including Cross River, Enugu and Nasarawa States.

Study Principal Investigator is Dr. Anthony Okwuosah.

The objective of this project is to characterize and compare the oral microbiomes in HIV infected, HIV exposed but uninfected, and HIV unexposed and uninfected children. The team at the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) with support from the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) and oversight from the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB) are responsible for the implementation of the clinical aspect of the study.

Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) Project

The Integrating Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH)/Family Planning (FP) into HIV/AIDS Services in Four States in Nigeria project is aimed at improving sexual and reproductive health in FCT, Nasarawa, Rivers, and Katsina States, Nigeria. The project is also to reduce unintended pregnancies and complications among people living with HIV.

Project goals include:

• Increase access to and utilization of SRH/FP services for 78, 633 PLHIV in 40 selected healthcare facilities in the four States.
• Integrate of RH/FP services in 40 select antiretroviral treatment clinics and one-stop shops in all four states.
• Strengthen the capacity of healthcare workers in the facilities.
• Strengthen the referral and follow-up system between and within 40 healthcare facilities in the four states.

States and Health Facilities providing Sexual Reproductive Health Services

Nasarawa State: Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH), Lafia; Federal Medical Center, Keffi; Mararaba Gurku Medical Center, Mararaba; Lafia Key Population One Stop Shop; Our Lady of Apostles Hospital, (OLAH) Akwanga; General Hospital Akwanga; Model Comprehensive Center Shabu; General Hospital Nasarawa Eggon; General Hospital Doma; General Hospital Garaku; Primary Health Center, Masaka and General Hospital Wamba.

Federal Capital Territory: University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH); Gwarinpa One Stop Shop; Asokoro District Hospital; Maitama General Hospital; National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Garki Hospital; General Hospital Nyanya, Gwarinpa General Hospital; Kubwa General Hospital; General Hospital Karshi; Primary Health Center Lugbe; Sisters of Nativity, Jikwoyi.

Katsina State : General Hospital Funtua, General Hospital Katsina; Federal Medical Center Katsina; General Hospital Daura.

Rivers State:  Key Population One Stop Shop Obio-Okpor; General Hospital Ahoada; General Hospital Degema; General Hospital Bori; Rivers State University Teaching Hospital; Pope John Paul Clinic , Khana ; General Hospital Isiokpo; General Hospital Omoku;  Oyigbo Comprehensive Health Care;  General Hospital Okrika;  General Terrabor; Rumuokrushi Model Primary Health Center.

Strategies being adopted to implement the project include; integrating sexual reproductive service delivery in the ante-retroviral treatment clinic flow, offering all people living with HIV who are visiting the facility with SRH services as well as conducting assessment of clients in the community.

The project is funded by BMZ-German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development with Gesudes Afrika serving as intermediary.

Gloabal Fund Public-Private Mix (PPM) Project

The focus of the Public-Private Mix Project is to engage the private sector in providing more people with tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment services. It is a novel project in Nigeria, funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and running from 2019 to 2020.

One of the targets of this project is to increase private sector contribution in finding more people needing tuberculosis treatment from 11% in 2017 to 35% in 2020. Click Here for more.

The Therapeutics for Inpatients with COVID-19 (TICO) study is a follow up on the In-patient Treatment with Anti-Coronavirus Immunoglobulin (ITAC) study, which was also implemented by the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN). TICO is a master protocol to evaluate the safety and efficacy of multiple drugs aimed at modifying the human immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, or directly improving viral control in order to limit disease progression.

TICO is a randomized, blinded, controlled study which allows multiple drugs to be tested during the course of the study. This allows for efficient testing of new drugs against placebo and standard of care (SOC) treatment within the same study. An independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) will regularly review interim analyses and summarize safety and efficacy results to delineate which drug(s) are beneficial for the treatment of COVID 19 symptomatic disease.

The primary aim of this study is to evaluate patients who experience sustained recovery from the time after receiving the investigational drug. This study is being implemented in Africa by the International Research Center of Excellence of the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria collaborating with the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital Gwagwalada (UATH) and the Nigerian COVID-19 Research Consortium (NCRC). TICO is funded by the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) with the National PI as Dr Eriobu Nnakelu.C.

The D2EFT study is a phase IIIB/IV randomised open-label trial to compare dolutegravir with pharmaco-enhanced darunavir versus dolutegravir with predetermined nucleosides versus recommended standard of care antiretroviral regimens in patients with HIV-1 infection who have failed recommended first line therapy.

The major aim of this study is to find the best 2nd line regimen, among the current range of drugs used in our environment that would have maximal benefit for most patients who have failed first line HIV 1 drugs.

This is without the infrastructure of drug sensitivity testing in a resource constrained environment. Its emphasis is finding a regimen that will fulfil criteria including:

• Efficacy at significantly reducing viral load
• Encouraging adherence due to a lower incidence of drug toxicity, drug to drug interactions or other adverse events,
• Improving participant quality of life

The D2EFT study is designed to support HIV treatment in the sub-Saharan African context and will provide knowledge to significantly improve treatment outcomes and change the current strategy for managing patients who have failed 1st line HIV treatment.

This study is to augment national disease surveillance by supporting the Government of Nigeria to conduct serologic surveillance using specimens stored with consent in the Nigeria Centers for Disease Control (NCDC) National Reference Laboratory sample storage repository. It will also address key knowledge gaps regarding the burden and risk of malaria, vaccine preventable diseases and other diseases of public health importance.

Study objectives include

• Estimate prevalence of malaria in Nigeria to monitor and accelerate procress towards disease control goals
• Estimate sero-prevalence of multiple vaccine preventable diseases in Nigeria to monitor process towards accelerated disease control goals, and identify immunity gaps.
• Estimate seroprevalence of other diseases of public health importance in Nigeria to monitor process towards disease control goals.

Study Principal Investigator is Dr. Sam Peters.

Building TRUST Study is a follow-on study to the TRUST study. TRUST study, an implementation science research grant, uncovered high-risk men who have sex with men (MSM) with a high HIV prevalence (44%) and low uptake of clinical care and treatment. These men also have low levels of disclosure of HIV and/or sexual orientation, high incidence rates of both HIV infection (13.9 per 100 person- years) and sexually transmitted infections (STI) (gonorrhea and chlamydia).

Building TRUST study suggests that there are interventions to address interpersonal, network and structural barriers to HIV treatment and prevention. It is framed in the 2014 WHO Consolidated Guidelines on HIV Prevention, Diagnosis, Treatment and Care for Key Populations.  The aims the study include, investigating the impact of introducing Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and characterizing HIV transmission networks within the MSM community. This is to lead to interventions to prevent HIV transmission.

This project is aimed at upgrading the infrastructure and functions of the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) central bio-repository in Abuja to international standards.

With the grant funded by the National Institutes of Health, the IHVN Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3 Africa) biorepository (IHAB) supports H3Africa investigators in Africa to conduct high-quality genomics and translational research.

IHAB ensures well-processed, preserved and quality controlled and protected human biological samples for genomic and other bio-medical studies to address health issues and diseases in the African continent.

Principal Investigator is Prof. Alash’le Abimiku, IHVN Executive Director, International Research Center of Excellence.

For more information, contact, www.i-hab.org

The project uses the Oxford Nanopore, a USB-sized, portable sequencing instrument, to develop a diagnostic assay. This assay rapidly diagnoses patients with acute febrile illness by screening for all potential pathogens in under two hours.

The goal of this five year project is implementation of a field-ready, real-time sequencing assay for unbiased pathogen diagnosis of acute febrile illness using metagenomic nanopore sequencing.

DRESH Project

The Evaluation of the Therapeutic Effectiveness of Dolutegravir-Based First-Line Regimen in Children and Adolescents Infected with HIV-1 in North Central Nigeria (DRESH) study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of DTG-based first line regimen in children and adolescents living with HIV who have been exposed on the regimen for a minimum of 12 months in the North Central region of Nigeria.

The project is to find a pattern of detectable viral load among the study population in the selected study sites, assess the prevalence of drug resistance, and identify the type of selected mutations among the participants with VL above 1000 copies per ml after 12 months of treatment and identify the factors associated with treatment failure among the study population.

The study is being implemented in – the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Garki Hospital, Maitama District Hospital, Daughters of Charity Hospital, Gwarimpa General Hospital, Wuse General Hospital, Lugbe Primary Health Center, Asokoro District Hospital, and Nyanya General Hospital.

• Principal Investigator: Dr. Sophia Osawe
• Project Funders and collaborators: The West African Network for TB, AIDS and Malaria

(WANETAM) – via EDCTP funding

• Project Duration: 2023-2025

The TRACING study is a prospective cohort study that is made up of two components. The first component seeks to train health care workers on tuberculosis infection control practices, assess the level of infection control, and measure the output of these trainings. The second component of the study seeks to measure the risk of tuberculosis infections among health care workers.

Aim of the study is to provide evidence to strengthen TB infection control mechanism, and develop policies relevant for protecting health workers.

It is being implemented in at least 14 health facilities across the Federal Capital Territory and Nasarawa States. Facilities were selected based on the availability of HIV and TB services, and the number of patients accessing care in these facilities.

The BEAMING Study is researching into how breast milk affects infant’s gut bacteria and how this in turn affects infant’s growth and their ability to respond to childhood vaccination. This effect will be studied in HIV exposed uninfected children and the results compared with HIV uninfected unexposed children.

It is an NIH funded study that will utilize stored samples from HIV-Exposed Infants in a previous study, the Infant Study.

This study conducts rigorous research into breast cancer and its molecular subtypes in indigenous population of Nigeria, in order to understand the epidemiological and genomic determinants of the incidence of breast cancer, its molecular subtypes, and the role of diet in etiology of breast cancer in Nigeria.

Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) is an initiative by Vital Strategies aimed at enhancing the capacity and preparedness of low- and middle-income countries to prevent disease outbreaks. Phase I of the RTSL project, launched in 2019, focused on strengthening Quality Management and Specimen Referral Systems in Public Health Laboratories and Networks in Nigeria. This phase was implemented with the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDC). As a sub-grantee to Vital Strategies, IHVN supported the six Yellow Fever (YF) and two COVID-19 laboratories across six states: FCT, Edo, Enugu, Kaduna, Lagos & Nasarawa. The laboratories involved included the National Reference Laboratory in Gaduwa, Abuja; Central Public Health Laboratory in Lagos; Maitama District Hospital in Abuja; Yusuf Dantsoho Hospital in Kaduna; University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Enugu; University of Benin Teaching Hospital in Benin; Nasarawa State Infectious Disease Research Center; and Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital in Edo.

Phase II of the project began in 2023 to support laboratory governance at the subnational level and improve laboratory quality systems through effective subnational coordination (Laboratory Quality Systems, JEE indicator D1.2). This phase is being implemented with the Medical Laboratory Science Division (MLSD) of the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) Federal Ministry of Health ( FMoH-MLS)  across four states: Bayelsa, FCT, Nasarawa, and Kano. Additionally, in partnership with NCDC, it aims to establish and improve national and subnational specimen referral systems for rapid detection of priority pathogens and epidemic-prone diseases.

TRiAD Study

Triage Test for All Oral DR-TB Regimen (TRiAD) study is a non-randomized interventional phase 4 (clinical access protocol) implementation science study. It is to evaluate the effectiveness, operational feasibility, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness of implementing the Xpert MTB/XDR assay for rapid triage and selection of all oral regimens for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis.

The project study facilities are in the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kano and Kaduna states. The study is funded by EDCTP with Dr, Kogieleum Naidoo and Prof. Alash’le Abimiku as Principal Investigators.

We are a member of the PhArmacoVigilance Africa (PAVIA) consortium aimed at strengthening pharmacovigilance in four African countries namely Ethiopia, Nigeria, Swaziland and Tanzania. The consortium is funded by the European Developing Countries Clinical Trial Images Partnership (EDCTP).

To improve pharmacovigilance, the project is strengthening routine reporting of drug adverse events amongst other activities. We will also be carrying out research, training health care workers across the country on pharmacovigilance, and developing necessary guidelines.

BRILLIANT Study

This work was undertaken by the BRILLIANT Consortium, made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) until its suspension on January 27, 2025, and subsequent termination on the 26th of February, 2025. The contents are the sole responsibility of the BRILLIANT Consortium and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

The International Research Center of Excellence (IRCE) at the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) is a part of the BRILLIANT HIV Vaccine Consortium which is spearheading HIV vaccine development and conducting preclinical studies to determine promising vaccines.

The Bringing Innovation to Clinical and Laboratory Research to End HIV in Africa through New Vaccine Technology” (BRILLIANT) project in Nigeria is to test HIV vaccine concepts and advance the most promising candidates contributing to HIV prevention global efforts. It will strengthen systems of collaborating institutions and countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa while increasing career opportunities for promising regional scientists.

Project methods and research approaches include preclinical and clinical phases comprising immunogen development, animal testing, and clinical trial testing in humans. The project has a multi-phasic approach from Phase 1 to Phase 4 starting with low-risk populations as initial participants to test safety and immunogenicity, and progressively extending to high-risk populations in subsequent phases to assess how well the vaccine protects against infection.

The project is led by the Chief Executive Officer and President of the South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa, Prof. Glenda Gray, while the project’s Principal Investigator in Nigeria is Prof. Alash’le Abimiku. The project duration is from 2023-2029 and Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, and South Africa are the participating countries in the project which is funded by USAID.

Improving Nigeria’s Capacity to Use Data on Registered Stillbirths for Decision-making & Planning (SPEED Project)

The Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health (D4H) Initiatives Global Grants Program has sub-awarded the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria – International Research Centre for Excellence (IHVN-IRCE), to implement the SPEED Project; a 15-month project aimed at using Nigeria’s stillbirths’ data to influence decision-making. Click here to learn more

IAS CIPHER CaPS Study

The Impact of Structured Caregiver Peer Support (CaPS) on ART Adherence and Viral Suppression among Children Living with HIV in Nigeria project is a two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial.

The study involves 132 children living with HIV whose HIV viral load is unsuppressed and their caregivers. Six cluster health facilities are involved in this research which will,

• Explore facilitators and barriers to Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) adherence among young children. This will guide the development of a caregiver peer mentor training curriculum and interventional programme.
• Test the impact of caregiver peer support in improving adherence and promoting achievement of viral suppression among children.

The intervention will target caregivers of unsuppressed children (0-10years), measuring outcomes at child level after 6, 12 and 18 months of follow up.

The intervention arm will receive structured caregiver-to-caregiver peer support while the control arm will receive routine standard of care with no such support.

Structured Pharmacovigilance and Training Initiative (SPHAR-TI)

The Structured Pharmacovigilance and Training Initiative (SPHAR-TI) was developed and implemented by the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria in 2016 in response to a short-term grant (B40396) awarded by the World Health Organization Special Programme for Research in Tropical Diseases. The grant aimed to improve the quality of adverse drug reporting in Nigeria.

Grant objectives include training healthcare workers in pharmacovigilance service delivery, printing and distributing adverse drug reporting tools and work aids, and building a network of healthcare workers for coordinated pharmacovigilance services in Nigeria.

The grant developed a structured, practical and effective model of providing pharmacovigilance training in Nigeria, trained pharmacists, doctors and nurses from health facilities treating HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in the six geopolitical regions in Nigeria, developed a training manual and tools for the ease of ADR reporting, built a network of health care workers for coordinated pharmacovigilance service delivery in Nigeria and built a strong collaborative framework with the government for ongoing pharmacovigilance service delivery.

The model increased the reporting of ADRs to NAFDAC by 197% leading to the adoption of SPHAR-TI by the Federal Government of Nigeria. In 2016, NAFDAC used SPHAR-TI to train 600 healthcare workers from ten states nationwide.

The Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) project aims at increasing access and utilization of basic nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls and children under five years of age. ANRiN, which is supported by the World Bank (International Development Association and Global Financing Facility), is being implemented in 12 states representing the six geographical zones of Nigeria.

As of 16^th of October 2023, the project provided 576,179 children under five years and 169, 468 pregnant, lactating women as well as adolescent mothers with nutrition services.

Institute of Human Virology Nigeria is implementing the ANRiN project in nine Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Kano state. These are, Nasarawa, Kano Municipal, Fagge, Gwale, Tarauni, Kumbostso, Dala, Bunkure and Wudil.

The objectives of the project which commenced in May 2021 are,

• Improve knowledge of mothers/care-givers of children 0-23 months of age on improved behaviors related to maternal, infant and young child feeding, notably early, exclusive and continued breastfeeding, appropriate complementary feeding, and early stimulation
• Improve quality of complementary feeding by providing fifteen sachets of micronutrient powders bi-monthly for children 6-23 months
• Provide at least 90 iron-folic acid (IFA) tablets per pregnant women by specifically addressing barriers that inhibit women from taking a full course of IFA tablets during pregnancy through counseling during ante-natal care sessions
• Provide at least three doses of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria during ante-natal care per pregnant woman
• Distribute at least four sachets of zinc/oral rehydration solution (ORS) per year for treatment of diarrhea among children 6-59 months of age
• Semi-annual vitamin A supplementation among children 6-59 months of age.

Semi-annual deworming among children 12-59 months of age.

This study evaluated the impact of mentor mother programs on PMTCT service uptake and retention at primary health care facilities in Nigeria. The study utilized the power of peer experience of HIV positive women who have successfully completed the PMTC process at least once, trained them to provide counseling and other support to PMTCT-naïve pregnant women and mothers. These positive pregnant women and mothers were guided through recruitment, counseling and community support in hard-to-reach communities. The study also trained mentors mothers. Comparison between mentor mother sites and non-mentor mother sites at the end of the study showed that, in terms of ANC attendance and hospital delivery for PLHIV, there was six fold improvement. Retention in care after delivery was over 35% for mentor mother sites. There was also about 30% improvement in Early Infant Diagnosis and three-fold increase in presentation for Early Infant Diagnosis.

This study focused was a longitudinal prospective cohort study that employed a behavioral survey as well as clinical evaluations to measure HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI)  incidences of, and determine the best practices for, engaging Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) into prevention and care services. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) study had three aims.

1. To evaluate the network-based recruitment and quantification of the acceptability of test and treat.
2. To measure the impact of the TRUST intervention on prevention outcomes, and
3. To define an optimal service delivery model for MSM in Nigeria.

Findings showed that;

• In contrast to the mostly consistent microbial communities identified in the mothers, the microbiomes of HIV-exposed, uninfected and HIV-unexposed, uninfected infants showed striking differences based on the mother’s status
• At six months post-partum: α-diversity (Shannon index) in the meconium/stool of HIV Exposed Uninfected infants is significantly higher, when compared to HIV Unexposed Uninfected infants. Trend towards higher diversity in HIV Exposed Uninfected infants is maintained when adjusted for cotrimoxazole prophylaxis and breastfeeding.
• The bacterial community composition of the infants’ meconium and stool changed over time, and correlated to the mother’s HIV status. HIV Exposed Uninfected infants had more abundant populations of Bifidobacteriaceae and Enterococcaceae, whereas HIV Exposed Uninfected infants had more Ruminococcaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, and Enterobacteriaceae in their stools.

Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) implemented, SHaRING, a project targeted at building sustainable and highly trained human resources in health care, through pre and in-service laboratory trainings. The trainings ensured high quality laboratory tests to support HIV prevention, care and treatment programs in Nigeria. The project supported laboratory systems strengthening by addressing two main areas for capacity building; Pre-service laboratory training and In-service laboratory trainings. The project was funded by United States Government Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEFPFAR) through Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with Professor Alash’le Abimiku as Principal Investigator.

It was implemented between October 2012 and September 2016.

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The Pre-service component of the project carried out curriculum development and capacity building for the laboratory workforce under-going training in academic institutions and tertiary institutions for the Medical Laboratory Science Internship program. The focus was to have comprehensive and integrated curricular that adequately addressed HIV/AIDS and co-infection laboratory needs and reflected relevant sections of the National HIV/AIDS laboratory guideline.

The In-service component dealt with capacity building for the laboratory workforce that is already providing services in various capacities at different levels of health care facilities. The aim was to improve the quality and reliability of HIV and TB test results used for diagnosis and monitoring of HIV/TB care and treatment and their co-morbidities.

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IHVN collaborated with key stakeholders such as the Government of Nigeria (GoN): FMoH-HIV/AIDS Division (HAD), Medical Lab Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN), Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), 20 universities and 47 colleges offering medical laboratory science program, GoN tertiary health facilities for medical laboratory science internship program; Partners Implementing the HIV and TB program, the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) and General and Health Logistics International Limited (GHLI-L) to execute of the activities.

The trainings covered; basic TB smear microscopy, HIV/AIDS diagnosis and monitoring, basic equipment maintenance, laboratory quality management Systems, bio-repository, supply chain management, HIV molecular techniques , TB molecular techniques and TB Culture. All trainings were conducted at IHVN supported training centers located in Abuja, Jos, Zaria, Ife and Kano.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Development of a survey tool for pre-service training needs assessment. This tool was used for assessing the capacity and pre-service training needs in 20 universities and 47 colleges of health technology offering the medical laboratory science programs; and remains a useful tool for the nation’s ability to continue to monitor and evaluate these institutions of learning.
• Development of ‘National Guidelines for HIV diagnosis and Medical Laboratory Monitoring of HIV/AIDS Clients on Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART)
• Improved curricula for medical laboratory science education These institutions have graduated 834 based on the improved curricula.
• Award of CPD credits to SHaRING trainings: The SHARING negotiated successfully that all trainings conducted under SHaRING were accredited by the MLSCN for award of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) credit units.
• Improved medical laboratory science internship program: SHaRING collaborated with MLSCN to identify gaps in the current medical lab science internship training program in Nigeria. In collaboration with government and teaching hospitals, a total of 282 internship students were trained on  Quality Management System, Good Clinical Laboratory Practice.
• Provision of teaching aids to institutions: SHaRING provided projectors to all 67 institutions offering medical lab science as part of efforts to upgrade learning and facilitate communication.
• Capacity building for faculty staff; SHaRING trained a total of 359 faculty staff from all the universities and colleges of health education on adult learning principles and teaching methodologies, Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP), and Quality Management System (QMS) and HIV molecular techniques/CD4 testing so as to strengthen the capacity of faculty staff to teach HIV/AIDS related content..

In-service training: A total of 2,779 laboratory personnel from Implementing Partners and GoN have been trained over the four-year period on Basic HIV diagnosis and monitoring, Basic TB smear microscopy, Basic equipment maintenance, supply chain management, Good Laboratory Practices Sample collection and Processing, Quality Management System, Bio-repository, Advanced HIV molecular techniques, Advanced TB molecular techniques and TB culture.

Strategic HIV and AIDS Response Program (SHARP) Nigeria Project

The Strategic HIV and AIDS Response Program (SHARP) Task Order 1 USAID funded project is committed to addressing HIV in Sokoto, Zamfara, Niger, Kwara and Kebbi states by providing HIV prevention, care and treatment services. The project is to run from 2020 to 2022. Click Here for more.

This study is a cluster randomized trial of innovative interventions targeting challenges of adolescents in transitioning from the pediatric treatment to the adult treatment program. Specific aims are to,

Inform strategies for transitioning services in resource-limited settings
Examine developmental, clinical and other factors for successful transition
Gain insight on implementation barriers among African adolescents to inform targets for structured intervention.
ADAPT Study is an NIH R01 five-year study (2016-2021) conducted in central and Northern Nigeria at selected health facilities that we support with funding from US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through CDC.

The study is a sub-agreement between ICAP at Columbia University and IHVN to provide technical assistance to Ministries of Health (MOH) to establish a Tracking with Recency Assays to Control the Epidemic (TRACE) program. The ICAP/IHVN TRACE program will monitor HIV epidemic trends, inform rapid programmatic responses at state, local and individual levels in FCT and Rivers State, and accelerate progress towards HIV epidemic control. The project will scale up the use of rapid recency assays at HIV testing sites. It will build data systems to capture recency data to characterize emerging hotspots and help target prevention interventions.

IHVN and ICAP will work as partners in the implementation of recency testing in select 15 health facilities sites in FCT and 31 in Rivers States in Nigeria. This is to involve conducting trainings for TRACE protocol procedures, ensuring laboratory quality control and successful data capture, reporting and monitoring of key recency indicators, and using data to inform program response.

Study Principal Investigator is Dr. Anthony Okwuosah.

The University of Maryland – Institute of Human Virology AIDS International Training and Research Program (UM-IHV AITRP) is instituting a refined research training strategy to build a critical mass of institutional and individual research capacity. Through a “mentor-the-mentor” program, a research training team consisting of a US faculty expert, one or more Nigerian Faculty Mentor and a highly selected trainee participates in research training. The team approach ensures that participating institutions are committed, the capacity of faculty is built and internationally trained research investigators work with their local research institutions.

Principal Investigator of Project is Dr. Patrick Dakum

The FLEMING Fund is a UKaid Department of Health and Social Care programme helping to tackle anti-microbial resistance (AMR) in low- and medium-income countries around the world.

As part of the DAI Consortium, IHVN is providing technical support in the area of human health. Activities include carrying out needs assessment, biosafety/security assessment, and renovation of eighteen laboratories involved in the project.

The project is to strengthen systems for AMR surveillance across human, animal and environmental health sectors as part of One Health.

Training Resources (Slides)