Vanderbilt University has recently received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for more than $7 million to extend HIV/AIDS training, treatment and care in the rural province of Zambézia in Mozambique.
The grant, entitled "Avante Zambézia," Portuguese for "Move Forward Zambézia," will continue HIV/AIDS efforts from 2007 initiated with funding from a prior CDC grant. The President's Emergency Plan for AID Relief (PEPFAR) funded both grants.
C. William 'Bill' Wester, M.D., M.P.H.
As with the previous grant, Vanderbilt's contributions under the new grant will be coordinated by Friends in Global Health (FGH). Avante Zambézia's principal investigator is C. William Wester, M.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor of Medicine and core VIGH faculty member. VIGH Director, Dr. Sten Vermund was the principal investigator of the previous grant and will continue to contribute his insight for efforts under the new grant.
More than 11 percent of Mozambicans are living with HIV. Avante Zambézia will assist the Mozambican Ministry of Health in improving its health care systems to provide more high-quality HIV/AIDS services.
Read the full story in the VUMC Reporter.