Background

In May 1998, the Honorable Crispus Kiyonga, then Ugandan Minister of Health formally invited the US Army to conduct HIV and malaria research within Uganda. The U.S Department of Defense (U.S DoD) formally acknowledged this new program, and an African program for vaccine research and development began in 1998 with the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (USMHRP) and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation Inc of USA (HJF).

Initial collaborations were with the Rakai Health Sciences Program, a collaboration between Columbia University, Johns Hopkins, Makerere University and the Uganda Virus Research Institute, where the focus was development of infrastructure and definition of cohorts.

In 2002, Makerere University Walter Reed Project (MUWRP) was established as a result of a memorandum of understanding between Makerere University and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation Inc of USA . Collaborative research has focused on development of infrastructure, definition of cohorts, acquisition of appropriate products for evaluation and the clinical evaluation of these products.

The core of MUWRP's effort is to accomplish all activities required for the initiation of Phase III clinical trials over the next few years. A key component of these activities is the provision of HIV care including Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) in the larger communities within which research platforms reside.