We are thrilled from CFAR to provide this special announcement of the renewal of the SEARCH study, in a new iteration of the grant called SEARCH Sapphire. Led by Dr. Diane Havlir, Moses Kamya, and Maya Petersen, this study has generated profoundly important findings in the setting of HIV treatment and prevention for sub-Saharan Africa. We expect SEARCH Sapphire “A Multisectoral Strategy to Address Persistent Drivers of the HIV Epidemic in East Africa” will continue to move the needle in ending the AIDS epidemic worldwide. As one of the largest grants from the NIH on HIV research across UCSF and its affiliates, SEARCH has served as a platform for many early stage investigators’ careers for the past 5 years and will continue to provide opportunities for mentorship. Congratulations to the SEARCH PIs and their many collaborators on this achievement!
Monica on behalf of the CFAR with Lauren, Peter, Mallory
Since 2012, Drs. Diane Havlir (UCSF), Moses Kamya (Makerere University) and Maya Petersen (UCB) have co-led SEARCH with the goal to evaluate bold health interventions at the community level that inform policy makers and funding agencies through the inclusion of health, economic and education parameters and through innovative, efficient study designs
To date, SEARCH has more than 70 publications, has been featured in a Emmy prize winning segment on PBS NewsHour, and presented at numerous high-profile international conferences on key findings such as:
- A novel hybrid, mobile approach of multiple-disease community health campaigns followed by home-based testing reached and exceeded UNAIDS 90-90-90 target and resulted in a population-level viral suppression target of 82%.
- A multi-disease community level approach to HIV to test and treat led to 20% fewer HIV deaths, reduced the incidence of HIV and tuberculosis (TB), and improved control of hypertension and diabetes.
- Among persons with advanced HIV disease, the SEARCH intervention model accelerated treatment start and reduced mortality at a population level with 27% fewer deaths.
- The SEARCH intervention reduced mother-to-child HIV transmission and increased HIV free survival among infants born to mothers with HIV.
- Population-level PrEP offered was associated with 79% lower HIV incidence among PrEP initiators with follow-up HIV testing than among recent matched controls in the absence of PrEP.
