Signing of MOU renewal in Johannesburg, SA (left to right): Dr. Barbara Clow (Executive Director, ACEWH), Dr. Olive Shisana (CEO, HSRC), Ms. Bridgette Prince (Director International Liaison, HSRC), Dr. Nancy Phaswana-Mafuya (SAHARA Conference Chair)

 Barbara Clow and Linda Snyder, the Executive and Assistant Directors of the Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health (ACEWH), were invited to present a pre-conference workshop at the Nov 28-Dec 1 SAHARA (Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance) Conference in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The event was organized by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). Together with CIDA-sponsored youth interns and South African colleagues, they led sessions on sex- and gender-based analysis and practice and HIV/AIDS research. While in South Africa, Dr. Clow also oversaw the final signing of the renewal of a Memorandum of Understanding with HSRC.

The ACEWH and Dalhousie University have had a long standing partnership with the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa. In 2000, ACEWH and the Commonwealth Secretariat in London,UK, initiated the idea of developing an International Institute on Gender and HIV/AIDS in order to raise awareness and deepen understandings of the role of gender in the HIV pandemic. The initiative resulted in the 2004 partnering with the HSRC. Since then, MOUs have facilitated capacity building on issues relating to gender and HIV/AIDS through internships and faculty exchanges, collaboration on research grant proposals, conference proceedings and publications. CIDA interns have been placed with HSRC in various South African cities since 2005. The next call for interns will be announced in April 2012.

For more information about work undertaken by SAHARA and the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa, please visit www.sahara.org.za and www.hsrc.ac.za. Contact information for the Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health, www.acewh.dal.ca, email is acewh@dal.ca and 494-7850.