The project

Background

Infectious diseases remain the leading cause of illness and death among children in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially for those living with HIV. Despite the high mortality rates, the exact causes of death in this vulnerable population are not well understood, revealing a critical gap in paediatric infectious disease research.

Historically, most infectious disease research has focused on adults, even though children carry a disproportionate burden of illness. To improve health outcomes for children in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is an urgent need for high-quality, child-focused clinical research.

SUPPORT is a transformative research initiative designed to bridge this gap. By training healthcare professionals across Sub-Saharan Africa to lead and conduct rigorous paediatric infectious disease research, SUPPORT strengthens clinical capacity, enhances healthcare systems, and helps reduce child mortality rates.

Building research capacity in Africa through specialised training programmes:

Equips healthcare workers and researchers with essential skills to conduct impactful studies
Promotes long-term talent retention in the healthcare and research sectors
Builds a sustainable, skilled, and locally rooted healthcare workforce
Encourages cross-border collaboration between African and European research institutions

Goals and objectives

The SUPPORT project aims to strengthen health research systems in Sub-Saharan Africa by implementing a collaborative, transnational research training programme focused on paediatric infectious diseases.

Led by a consortium of clinical research and academic institutions from across Africa and Europe, SUPPORT is structured around two core workflows that guide its strategic objectives:

Workflow 1

This workflow focuses on delivering network-wide training to equip early- and mid-career health researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa with essential research and transferable skills. By investing in talent development, this initiative supports the creation of a robust, inclusive, and sustainable research ecosystem focused on paediatric infectious diseases.

Objectives of Workflow 1:

To strengthen research capacity by providing high-quality training to early- and mid-career researchers, with a focus on paediatric infectious diseases, to enhance clinical and public health research capabilities across SSA.
To promote diversity and inclusion by ensuring equitable participation by actively recruiting individuals from diverse gender, socioeconomic, and geographic backgrounds, supporting a more representative research workforce.
To develop core research skills by delivering technical training in key areas such as: regulatory affairs, clinical studies and clinical trials, ethics, epidemiology, and statistical analysis.
To build transferable and entrepreneurial competencies by equipping trainees with essential soft skills including: scientific communication, leadership and project management, and innovation to enhance employability and promote collaboration with regional and international organisations.
To promote the One Health approach by Integrate One Health principles into training to highlight the links between human, animal, and environmental health—critical to addressing complex paediatric infectious disease challenges.
To foster a sustainable network by building a connected, collaborative community of trained researchers and healthcare professionals committed to improving child health across Africa.

Workflow 2

This workflow delivers specialised, hands-on training through Individual Research Projects (IRPs) focused on improving the clinical management and long-term outcomes of children living with HIV. Projects are tailored to trainees’ backgrounds in clinical research, social sciences, laboratory sciences, pharmacokinetics (PK), data science, or innovation.

Fellows will complete PhD or postdoctoral studies while generating high-impact evidence to address critical gaps in paediatric HIV care and post-discharge mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Objectives of Workflow 2:

To support advanced specialisation in clinical research and social science, laboratory, and pharmacokinetics (PKs), or data and innovation, tailored to the individual backgrounds of the trainees.
To evaluate the accuracy of a new "severity biomarker" in predicting post-discharge mortality in children living with HIV.
To evaluate the impact of enhanced follow-up and monthly HIV Point of Care (PoC) viral load in post-discharge mortality.
To assess the impact of cytomegalovirus viral load as a predictor of post-discharge mortality in children living with HIV.
To evaluate the impact of prolonged respiratory viral infection in children living with HIV on post-discharge mortality.
To evaluate the impact of prolonged gastrointestinal pathogens and Histoplasmosis in children living with HIV on post-discharge mortality.
To evaluate the use of artificial intelligence devices to monitor early signs of respiratory failure to reduce post-discharge mortality.
Improve the knowledge of PKs in children living with HIV.
To analyse drug-resistant organisms' infection and colonisation and its impact on post-discharge mortality in children living with HIV.
Evaluate views, perceptions, and attitudes on post-discharge mortality and health-seeking behaviour in life-threatening scenarios for children living with HIV.