October 2020 Newsletter

As COVID-19 cases remain relatively low and stable in Uganda, Kenya and Ghana, ICHAD field team members continue to safely implement study activities, including data collection via telephone and delivery of multiple family group sessions, in socially distanced environments. Our field teams continue to look into the spread and impact of this deadly virus. The Suubi4Cancer team received an amendment to collect additional data on the impact of COVID-19 on the well-being of study participants and on health service provision.

For our U.S. team, the fall semester is in full swing which has brought multiple panel discussions and speaker series topics to a broader audience. In October, ICHAD Directors Fred Ssewamala and Ozge Sensoy Bahar and SMART Africa Global Fellow Timothy Opobo participated in the McDonnell International Scholars Academy Symposium that featured a panel on “Challenges and Opportunities in Developing Child Savings Programs in Israel and Uganda,” highlighting ICHAD’s work in engaging with policymakers to promote Child Development Accounts in Uganda. ICHAD and the SMART Africa Center’s October speaker series featured Columbia University Professor and ICHAD Affiliate, John Santelli who discussed HIV prevention projects in Rakai, Uganda.

Congratulations to ICHAD team members who recently had a paper, “Gender, HIV Knowledge and Prevention Attitudes Among Adolescents Living with HIV Participating in an Economic Empowerment Intervention in Uganda,” accepted for publication in AIDS Care. Check out the “Social Corner” section below for other exciting updates.

You can find our October 2020 newsletter here.