ICHAD team received grant to examine an economic empowerment intervention on female sex workers’ sexual risk-taking behaviors
The ICHAD team is thrilled to announce a new R01 study (R01MH116768) funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Under the leadership of Dr. Fred Ssewamala at Brown School and Dr. Susan Witte at Columbia University, and in collaboration with Rakai Health Sciences Program and Reach the Youth Uganda, this rigorous randomized study, entitled “Kyaterekera Project: A Combination Intervention Addressing Sexual Risk-Taking Behaviors Among Vulnerable Women In Uganda” will test a combination intervention addressing sexual risk-taking behaviors among female sex workers (FSW) in Uganda. FSWs in Sub-Saharan Africa have been identified as a high-risk group for the spread of HIV/AIDS, with those in poor areas being especially vulnerable. Research has shown that the primary reason poor women engage in commercial sex work is financial instability. Given these challenges, women living in poverty require support over and above HIV prevention education. Therefore, the ICHAD team intends to test the impact of adding economic empowerment (EE) components to traditional HIV risk reduction to reduce new incidents of sexually transmitting infections and of HIV among FSWs in Rakai and Masaka districts in Uganda and to provide an avenue for FSWs to explore alternative means of safe and sustainable income to replace sex work.