The TAZAMA project

The TAZAMA project monitors a population in a rural area of North West Tanzania. Information is collected on the demography of the population, and their vulnerability and response to the HIV epidemic.

The name of the study, TAZAMA, is the root of the Swahili verb kutazama, meaning "to search" - this reflects the fact that our research aim is to search for ways in which the AIDS epidemic can be brought under control, by preventing new infections and providing treatment for those already infected.

The TAZAMA study is currently funded by the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria. It is a continuation of the cohort study set up in the ward by the Tanzania - Netherlands Essential Strategies for AIDS (TANESA) in 1994.

The names of the research partners are the Tanzanian National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), the project leaders; Bugando Medical Centre (the referral hospital for the Tanzanian Lake zone); the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; and Tumaini, an NGO that provides home-based care to people living with AIDS and their families.

The TAZAMA study is a member of the INDEPTH network which is a network of field sites carrying out demographic surveillance in Asia and Africa and is also a member of the ALPHA network which is a network of sites with longitudinal data on HIV prevalence in Africa.

Current work 2008

The current focus of the study is on monitoring the roll-out of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) to this rural area, and evaluating the impact of therapy on the welfare of the population.

Current events

TAZAMA / NACP seminar day

Dar es Salaam, 19th September, 2008

Three years into the GFATM-funded TAZAMA research programme, we are putting on a special seminar for our partners in the National AIDS Control Programme, summing up the achievements of the last three years, looking forward to the next two years of the project, and preparing for a next phase of work as the monitoring and evaluation arm of the HIV prevention, treatment and care projects that GFATM funds in Tanzania.
The seminar will give us a chance to present some of our recent findings in a non-technical way to local programme managers and policy makers, in contrast to our journal publications and international conference presentations, which are generally aimed mainly at the research community. 
The seminar will start at 8 am on Friday 19th, at the NACP library, the agenda is shown below, and the presentations can be accessed through the web links listed here.