{"id":548,"date":"2019-07-28T20:36:57","date_gmt":"2019-07-29T00:36:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/hiv\/?page_id=548"},"modified":"2019-09-13T13:52:09","modified_gmt":"2019-09-13T17:52:09","slug":"evidence-evaluations-to-inform-decisions-using-economics-and-epidemiology","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/hiv\/implementation-evaluations-of-interventions-to-improve-service-delivery\/evidence-evaluations-to-inform-decisions-using-economics-and-epidemiology\/","title":{"rendered":"EVIDENCE: Evaluations to inform decisions using economics and epidemiology"},"content":{"rendered":"

EVIDENCE (Evaluations to Inform Decisions using Economics and Epidemiology) is a 5-year HIV\/AIDS project funded by PEPFAR through USAID. With the project lead in South Africa, the Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office (HE2<\/sup>RO), we conduct health economics and epidemiology research in support of the goals of the South African National Strategic Plan for HIV, TB and STI\u2019s 2017-2022 (NSP) and the PEPFAR Country Operational Plans 2018-2022. BU faculty and staff work closely with HE2RO on project evaluations, cost modeling, outcomes research, and financial management to improve guidelines, policies, programs, and resource allocation.<\/p>\n

In South Africa, the Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office (HE2<\/sup>RO), a collaboration between Wits University in Johannesburg and Boston University (BU) in the U.S., is a go-to provider of policy- and program-relevant evidence for the South African Government, international funders such as PEPFAR, and international technical organizations like the WHO.<\/p>\n

Instrumental to the establishment and growth of HE2<\/sup>RO over the past twenty years has been a series of cooperative agreements from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).\u00a0 USAID support has served as both core funding for the organization and project funding for dozens of studies and publications. Grants were originally awarded to Boston University, which then subcontracted HE2<\/sup>RO, but in the past two cycles, HE2<\/sup>RO has served as the primary grantee, attesting to the capacity for both grants management and technical leadership developed in South Africa.<\/p>\n

In 2019, HE2<\/sup>RO was awarded a new five-year cooperative agreement from the U.S President\u2019s Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through USAID South Africa for the EVIDENCE program. EVIDENCE\u2013Evaluations to inform Decisions Using Economics and Epidemiology\u2013is a program of applied research and evaluation, including cost and cost effectiveness analysis, cost modelling, and epidemiological analysis, aimed at assisting the South African Government to achieve the goals of its National Strategic Plan on HIV, TB and STIs (2017-2022), national and international 90-90-90 targets, and PEPFAR objectives.<\/p>\n

The Department of Global Health (DGH) at the Boston University School of Public Health is EVIDENCE\u2019s major technical partner. Under EVIDENCE, the BU team, which includes approximately ten DGH faculty, provides expertise in health economics and epidemiology and technical advice and training across the entire program.<\/p>\n

Some of the EVIDENCE activities that involve BU faculty are:<\/p>\n