This spring, three adventurous young women were the first Harvard undergraduates to study abroad in Botswana. The three biology majors lived on the campus of the University of Botswana and took classes there. The greater part of their education took place at the Botswana-Harvard Reference Laboratory.
Viewpoints: Max Essex
Dr. Max Essex is Chair of the Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative (HAI), the Lasker Professor of Health Sciences, and Chair of the Botswana-Harvard Partnership for HIV Research and Education (BHP). As the BHP celebrates its 10th anniversary, Martha Henry, Editor of Spotlight, asked Dr. Essex to reflect on past accomplishments and future goals of the BHP.
How the BHP Came to Be
By Martha Henry Maybe it all started with Deeda Blair, an early (and constant) supporter of the Harvard AIDS Institute. She introduced Max Essex, Chair of HAI, to Maurice Tempelsman in the 1980s.
Educating Southern African Parliamentarians about HIV/AIDS
The Conference on AIDS Action and Botswana: Lessons in Capacity Building and Importance of Research took place in Gaborone, Botswana in late January.
Research & Interventions
Using Nevirapine More Effectively A study published in the January 11th issue of found that for mothers given a single dose of nevirapine during labor to reduce the chance of HIV transmission to their children, waiting six months after birth before taking a nevirapine-based antiretroviral treatment dramatically reduced their chances of developing resistance to nevirapine.