As a regional SAHARA office, the West Africa office is responsible for the establishment of a network throughout the West African region. The overall goal of this office is to prevent the further spread of HIV and to mitigate its impact in West Africa, as part of an integrated strategy to combat AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. It facilitates interaction with stakeholders, communities and researchers, conducting research activities on sensitive issues that are not yet fully covered by social sciences research in West Africa.

The main domains covered by the West Africa office include: social geography of HIV/AIDS, vulnerability and communities' responses, socio-cultural context of HIV and AIDS care and treatment, policy responses, capacity building for research, information dissemination and networking.

The staff of the regional office includes a regional co-ordinator, five full-time and one part-time person.

The regional office is hosted at the Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD) and Institut des Sciences de l’Environnement in Dakar, Senegal. While the UCAD had its roots in l’Ecole Africaine de Médecine that was created in 1915, it was formally founded in the 1950s and is the oldest university in Senegal. It has five faculties, nineteen institutes and an allied school of veterinary science. Over 40,000 students from around Africa and the world attend the university. The Institut des Sciences de l’Environnement is a doctoral-level institute affiliated to the Faculté des Sciences et Techniques of the UCAD. The training supplied is based on teaching and research on environmental issues. The Institut was created in June 1979 and started with technical and financial support from the Belgian Government.

For more see www.ucad.sn or go to the Contacts page to get our telephone numbers or send us an email.

Publications

Publications produced by the West Africa office include:

• "You Can Also Cut My Finger!": Social Construction of Male Circumcision in West Africa
• It's raining stones: stigma, violence and HIV vulnerability among men who have sex with men in Dakar
• Revue Documentaire sur VIH/Sida et Pauvreté au Burkina Fasso
• Revue Documentaire sur la Reduction des Risques chez les PVVIH, le Stigma et Sida et Pauvreté: le cas du Bénin
• Memoire: Drogue et construction sociale de la marginalisation