Background

The Perinatal HIV Research Unit (PHRU) is one of the largest AIDS research centres in Africa and leads studies into HIV prevention, care and support. It is based at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa.

What exactly do we do?

The unit is involved in research, training, policy-formation and advocacy concerning HIV-positive people and their children.

In recent years the work of the PHRU has extended beyond research into the prevention of mother-to-child transmission to include treatment trials in adults and children, treatment research, prevention research, psychosocial research and policy development.

The unit has also received funding from the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the South African AIDS Vaccine initiative (SAAVI) to develop capacity for HIV vaccine clinical trials.

The unit is now a wide-ranging AIDS research centre that works closely with its local and international partners.

What is the PHRU's relationship with Wits?

The PHRU is a research unit of the University of the Witwatersrand. It is also a division of the Wits Health Consortium and was accorded research status in 2000.

How did the PHRU come about?

The PHRU evolved from an HIV clinic, in the maternity department of the hospital, that started research in 1993.

The unit initially focused on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV but has - under the leadership of its directors, Prof James McIntyre and Prof Glenda Gray - become a comprehensive and multidisciplinary research centre.

It has a staff of 400 and conducts a wide range of research projects.