We have an Africa-wide mandate with research applicable across the region that impacts on regional policies and programmes. We collaborate with a range of partners, both locally and internationally, through established research and policy networks. Our research reflects a dedicated and dynamic engagement with Africa’s health challenges, as well as driving an agenda for emerging opportunities in the field of global health, both in Africa and globally.
Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is an essential component of the universal right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and must be met for both men and women. Global, continental and regional comm...
In November 2023, HEARD launched a new collaborative project with the Paris Centre for Sociological and Political Research (CRESPPA) on access to safe abortion in Sub-Saharan Africa. The project which will run for four years (20...
HEARD is collaborating with the University of Malawi, University of Zambia and University of Zimbabwe to explore the influence of intersectional stigma on uptake and retention in art programmes for selected key population groups...
Overview HEARD together with EDC, SFH and Mott MacDonald are implementing the School-Based Sexuality and HIV Prevention Education Activity, a 5-year contract. The activity will support the South African Government to reduce HIV...
Overview: A pilot programme to introduce self-administered oral HIV testing to truck driver clients of two North Start Alliance clinics in Kenya in two settings -- in the clinic and the clients’ home. Objectives: The object...
Overview To establish population-level HIV incidence Provincial Surveillance System (HIPSS) platform in a household-based representative sample of men and women. Objectives The primary objective of the study is to measure HIV...
Overview: Access to social grants in South Africa has expanded rapidly. Increasing evidence shows the powerful impact for children's health and wellbeing that can occur if households access social grants. The Stepping Stones an...
Overview: Experiences of gender-based violence in South Africa are widespread. Rural areas have particular challenges with poor access to services and challenging gender relationships. This project shows understanding of the na...
Overview: The first 1000 days of a child's life (from conception to two years old) is a critical moment for building long term health and wellbeing. Evidence suggests that engaged fathers can contribute to a child's health, alo...
Overview: Crime statistics are high in South Africa, especially those relating to sexual violence, including rape and sexual assault, yet convictions of sexual violence cases are low. One particular challenge in the criminal ju...
Overview Young people in informal settlements in South Africa perpetrate and experience high levels of intimate partner violence, shaped by wide-scale economic marginalisation and entrenched gender inequalities. This project co...
Overview Since the onset of life saving Antiretroviral therapy (ART) in southern Africa for People Living with HIV (PLHIV), the disease has been re-conceptualised as a chronic condition. This comes with new experiences of co-mo...
Overview Young people with disabilities, particularly girls, are at an increased risk of sexual violence and exposure to HIV. Despite this fact, very few interventions in Africa target this vulnerable group and none of them are...
Overview Within the context of unacceptably high levels of gender-based violence (GBV) and HIV across many regions globally, this project supports the capacity-building of selected community based organizations in six countries...
Overview As young people living with HIV get older they start to face new challenges related to their sexual and reproductive health and rights, such as desires to have sex, children and engagement in meaningful intimate relati...
Three RCTs results have provided an impetus to scale up medical circumcision in Sub-Saharan Africa, where male circumcision is not necessarily a traditional practice. Despite encouraging trial results, valid concerns remain abou...
Overview: The Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) SRHR, HIV and AIDS and Governance programme is working with national parliaments to strengthen the capacity of six SADC national parliaments. Th...
Overview: A discrete choice experiment is conducted among high school learners in Vulindlela, a sub-district in Umgungundlovu, KwaZulu-Natal. The study is an economic component of a larger study to assess behavioural disinhibit...
Overview: The early postpartum period is key in the development of the mother-infant relationship and for the longer term outcome of the child. Investigating the underlying maternal vulnerabilities that disrupt maternal well-be...
Overview: The project aims to design and manualise an early parenting intervention, targeting women with infants under 12 months of age, to promote positive parenting and maternal coping skills. This intervention is designed fo...
Overview: This project aims to test the effectiveness of HIV related interventions amongst truck drivers and sex workers at three border post sites in southern Africa (South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe). Clinics have been s...
Overview: The findings of the Life Orientation (LO) research project conducted by HEARD that concluded in 2012 indicate that the delivery of the LO curriculum is, in learners’ view, having some positive impact in their lives....
Overview: This project undertakes an economic evaluation of the Nompilo Project run by the Centre for Rural Health-University of KwaZulu-Natal (CRH-UKZN). The objective of the Nompilo Project was to assess the effectiveness of ...
Overview: This study evaluates how the National Department of Health (NDOH) HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) program, including Provider Initiated Counselling and Testing (PICT), is implemented whilst determining the integrati...
A longitudinal study to monitor HIV incidence trends in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Overview To establish population-level HIV incidence Provincial Surveillance System (HIPSS) platform in a household-based representative sample ...