Global HIV/AIDS Initiatives Network (GHIN)

This article originally appeared in HIV & AIDS treatment in practice, an email newsletter for healthcare workers and community-based organisations in resource-limited settings published by NAM between 2003 and 2014.
This article is more than 15 years old.

About GHIN

The Global HIV/AIDS Initiatives Network (GHIN) is a network of researchers in 21 countries that explores the effects of Global Health Initiatives (GHIs) on country health systems. Three Initiatives in particular – the World Bank’s health programmes (including the Multi-Country AIDS Program); the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) – are the primary focus for members of the network.

The Network facilitates comparable work on a number of key research themes and the synthesis of findings around them:  scale-up of HIV/AIDS services; health systems capacity including human resources and coordination of HIV/AIDS programmes; and  access to HIV/AIDS services. Click here to read GHIN Background and briefing document.

GHIN is primarily concerned with understanding the effects of GHIs at the national and sub-national level. Country researchers have been collecting evidence from regions, facilities and services, and communities, in order to inform policy development at national and international level. Recent outputs from members of the Network include a Final Report and Policy Brief from researchers in Kyrgyzstan; Final Report and Policy Brief from researchers in Ukraine; results from Peruvian researchers on the Effects of GHIs on health systems, civil society and HIV/AIDS affected communities; and a comprehensive review of the effects of GHIs by researchers at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

GHIN has also been very active in the Maximising Positive Synergies (MPS) project conducted by the World Health Organisation. GHIN members from 8 countries each provided a country summary for inclusion in the final MPS Report. A summary Report was published in the Lancet in June, which draws on data and analysis provided by researchers within the network.

Glossary

capacity

In discussions of consent for medical treatment, the ability of a person to make a decision for themselves and understand its implications. Young children, people who are unconscious and some people with mental health problems may lack capacity. In the context of health services, the staff and resources that are available for patient care.

synergy

When two or more drugs produce an effect greater than adding their separate effects.

malaria

A serious disease caused by a parasite that commonly infects a certain type of mosquito which feeds on humans. People who get malaria are typically very sick with high fevers, shaking chills, and flu-like illness. 

The GHIN website hosts all the outputs from the country teams, including drafts and final reports, presentations at conferences, and journal articles. It also has a page listing upcoming Conferences and Calls for Papers, which it updates regularly.

In addition, the website hosts a comprehensive and fully searchable database of quality research on each of the three GHIs and the GAVI Alliance. It is continuously updated, making it the first port of call for researchers, policy makers and health professionals. To make synthesis even easier, each document on the database has its own document summary that summarises key findings, recommendations and conclusions with a link to the original document.

GHIN’s work is ongoing: visit our website – www.ghinet.org - regularly for the latest research on the effects of Global Health Initiatives on country health systems.