Four CCMS alumni and one current CCMS PhD candidate recently collaborated on a qualitative evaluation study commissioned by Johnson & Johnson for the New Horizons Advancing Paediatric HIV Care Collaborative (NHC) in three selected countries: Kenya, Uganda and Zambia in 2020. This study was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness, relevance, efficiency and sustainability of the NHC programme in order to inform programme changes and decisions about its future and was implemented between July and December 2020.
Dr. Emma Durden, a seasoned health communication research consultant from South Africa, was the Principal Investigator and Mpume Gumede, a CCMS PhD candidate, worked as a Senior Researcher in the study. Dr. Angela Napakol, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Communication at Uganda Christian University was the Lead In-country Researcher for Uganda; Dr. Basil Hamusokwe, a Lecturer and Head of Department in the Department of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Zambia was the Lead In-country Researcher for Zambia, and Dr. Abraham Mulwo, Associate Dean and Lecturer in the School of Information Sciences at Moi University in Kenya was the Lead In-country Researcher for Kenya.
When Emma and Mpume were approached to undertake this evaluation, they immediately thought of contacting their colleagues and old class-mates from CCMS as collaborators for this project. The rigorous research training and sensitive approach to research in the field of HIV and communications that all of the researchers had developed during their time with CCMS made for a strong and effective team for this project.
