With HIV rates as high as 33%, prevention should be a central component of strategies to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Health Research Capacity Strengthening (HRCS) initiative is funded and managed by Wellcome Trust, the Department for International Development (DFID) and IDRC. Wellcome Trust and DFID have committed £10 million each toward the program.
Tobacco is the mainstay of the economy of Malawi, accounting for over 70% of export earnings. Of the 100 000 members of the National Smallholder Farmers' Association of Malawi (NASFAM), 60% rely on tobacco for their sole source of income.
Most of Kenya's tobacco production takes place in the South Nyanza region, where the land under tobacco cultivation has increased rapidly and often at the expense of traditional food crops and livestock activities.
In 2004, the Wellcome Trust and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) agreed to commit GB £10 million each to a joint program, the Kenya-Malawi Health Research Capacity Strengthening Initiative (HRCS Initiative).