Accra

Researchers are investigating the safety, tolerability, and immune response of the rVSV94G-LASV-GPC vaccine in adults and children living in West Africa. This Phase 2 randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial builds on earlier studies that showed the vaccine was safe and triggered immune responses in animals and adults. The trial includes healthy adults, adults living with HIV, and children, aiming to expand knowledge before future effectiveness trials. Participants will receive one of two doses of the rVSV94G-LASV-GPC vaccine or a placebo. The study groups include healthy adults aged 18 to 70, HIV-infected adults aged 18 to 50, adolescents aged 12 to 17, children aged 6 to 11, and younger children aged 18 months to 5 years. The trial is randomized and triple-blinded, ensuring unbiased comparison between vaccine doses and placebo. The study monitors participants over several months to assess immune responses and vaccine shedding. During the study, participants will undergo medical evaluations, blood tests for antibody responses and vaccine presence, and monitoring for any side effects. Researchers will measure safety and tolerability up to seven months after vaccination and track immune responses and vaccine levels in blood, saliva, urine, and possibly reproductive fluids for up to 2.5 years. Participants and caregivers will complete questionnaires and attend follow-up visits as scheduled throughout the study duration.

Researchers are evaluating the long-term safety and effects of etavopivat, a new oral medicine being developed for inherited blood disorders such as sickle cell disease and thalassaemia. These conditions affect haemoglobin, the protein responsible for carrying oxygen in the blood. This phase 3 study involves participants who have already completed treatment in a prior etavopivat study and aims to understand how etavopivat performs over an extended period of up to 264 weeks, though the study may end earlier if the drug gains approval locally. Participants will receive oral doses of etavopivat, with different forms A, B, or C given based on their age and condition. Those aged 12 years and older will receive etavopivat A or C, while children under 12 years will receive etavopivat B. The study includes several groups covering various sickle cell disease and thalassaemia categories, including transfusion-dependent and non-transfusion-dependent cases. Treatment is continuous during the study period. Throughout the study, participants will undergo regular monitoring for side effects and treatment responses, including tracking treatment emergent adverse events, hospitalizations, vaso-occlusive crises, hemoglobin concentration changes, and blood transfusion needs. These assessments will help evaluate the drugs safety and efficacy across age groups and disease types. The study is open-label and non-randomized, with follow-up lasting up to about six years.

Researchers are evaluating a urine test called the 3-metabolite biosensor to detect colorectal cancer CRC and precancerous polyps in adults living in Ghana, Tanzania, and South Africa. The study focuses on participants who either have symptoms of colorectal cancer, are undergoing screening colonoscopy, or have had recent colonoscopy or pathology results related to CRC or polyps. Participants will be observed using the 3-metabolite biosensor, which is designed to identify colorectal cancer and precancerous polyps from urine samples. The study includes individuals with various colonoscopy findings, including those with diagnosed CRC, adenomatous polyps, or no malignancy, and those presenting symptoms such as rectal bleeding. During the study, participants will provide urine samples for testing with the biosensor. Researchers will measure the sensitivity of the biosensor in detecting colorectal cancer and precancerous polyps over up to one year. Participants are asked to be willing to participate and meet the age criteria of 18 years or older. The study is observational and does not involve treatment interventions.

Researchers are studying changes in blood pressure and early signs of heart disease risk among pregnant women in their third trimester through six months after giving birth in Accra, Ghana. This study includes women aged 18 to 45 years, with or without pregnancy-related heart and metabolic complications. The goal is to find out if a postpartum education program can improve monitoring of cardiovascular risk and help develop better screening and intervention strategies to reduce long-term heart disease risk for women. Participants are randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group receives a structured cardiovascular risk-reduction program that includes home blood pressure monitoring and weekly education sessions about heart health, nutrition, physical activity, stress management, sleep, weight management, medication adherence, and long-term cardiovascular health after pregnancy. The other group receives enhanced postpartum care, featuring home blood pressure monitoring and scheduled health check-ins focusing on postpartum recovery, infant care, mental health, nutrition, infection prevention, and family planning support. Throughout the study, participants are monitored at baseline, three months, and six months after birth. Assessments include measuring carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and various cardiometabolic and vascular biomarkers. The study tracks how these measures change over time and evaluates the impact of the education programs. The total study duration spans from late pregnancy through six months postpartum, supporting ongoing health monitoring and education.

This research aims to improve care for people with serious mental illness in West Africa, particularly those receiving treatment at traditional prayer camps. It evaluates a combined intervention involving a mobile health program and nurse-delivered pharmacotherapy. The study uses a stepped-wedge cluster randomized design to compare current care with the new intervention, focusing on psychiatric and depressive symptoms. The intervention includes a visiting nurse who provides medications directly to patients at the prayer camps. Additionally, camp staff receive training through a smartphone app called M-Healer, which supports delivery of psychosocial treatments, monitors patient health, and promotes human rights. Participants initially receive enhanced usual care, followed by gradual introduction of the full intervention across groups. Participants will be assessed at the start, mid-point 4 weeks, and end 8 weeks of the study to track changes in psychiatric and depressive symptoms. Data collection and monitoring will help evaluate the interventions impact. The total study duration extends until May 2027, allowing thorough observation and follow-up during and after the intervention periods.

Researchers are actively monitoring the side effects of COVID-19 vaccines worldwide in healthcare workers, adults over 65, and schoolteachers. The study aims to estimate how common local and systemic side effects are for each vaccine brand, identify demographic and medical factors influencing side effects, and evaluate long-term consequences. It also compares the relative safety of different COVID-19 vaccines and examines how palliative drugs affect short-term side effect resolution. The project has two phases a cross-sectional survey and a prospective cohort study. Phase A uses an online questionnaire to collect information about short-term side effects occurring within 30 days after vaccination, covering either the first or second dose. Phase B follows volunteers interested in reporting long-term side effects and vaccine effectiveness after booster doses over five years, starting in 2022. Multiple COVID-19 vaccines are included, such as Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Sinopharm, Sputnik V, Janssen, CureVac, Novavax, and Covaxin. Participants provide self-reported data through validated online questionnaires about side effect onset, duration, and intensity. The study tracks local and systemic side effects within 30 days post-vaccination as primary outcomes, with unrecognized side effects as secondary outcomes. Volunteers are followed for long-term safety and vaccine effectiveness, with a total observation period extending up to five years. This ongoing monitoring helps researchers understand vaccine safety profiles and side effect patterns in different populations.

Researchers are evaluating a behavioral intervention using a docudrama to encourage repeat blood donation among first-time blood donors in Ghana. This pilot cluster randomized trial compares the docudrama intervention to standard blood donor communication to assess its effect on repeat donation attempts and related factors such as attitudes, social norms, perceived control, and intention to donate again. The study aims to understand if the docudrama can improve donor retention within six months. Participants are divided into two groups one group watches a 30-minute docudrama immediately after donating blood, while the other group receives usual care involving standard thank-you and reminder phone calls. The trial stratifies randomization by donation site type mobile versus fixed. Both groups receive standard communications, and participants are followed for six months after enrollment. The study is planned to last 11 months, including five months for enrollment and six months of follow-up for the last participant. During the study, researchers will track actual repeat blood donation attempts using records from the Southern Zonal Blood Center and participant self-reports. Secondary measures related to donation attitudes and intentions will be collected at enrollment and six months later. Participants can expect to be contacted for follow-up assessments and their donation behavior monitored via blood center records. The primary outcome is the proportion of participants who make a verified repeat donation within six months of randomization.

Researchers are evaluating the effects of a new financial and capacity strengthening intervention called the Water Quality Assurance Fund program on water safety management in rural areas of Ghana and Kenya. The study aims to improve water system operator knowledge, chlorination practices, and water quality at collection points. It also seeks to enhance consumer satisfaction, awareness, and willingness to pay for water that is tested and treated. The research will assess implementation challenges and factors that support expanding water testing services to small rural water suppliers. The intervention involves legal agreements between water systems, centralized laboratories, and the facilitating organization to provide regular water quality testing. Laboratories receive guaranteed payments to reduce financial risk if water systems delay payments. The program includes regular meetings with water operators and local authorities to discuss test results and treatment options, technical guidance when requested, and community engagement to inform residents about the program. The study has several arms, with some groups starting the intervention immediately, others delayed by 6 or 12 months, and a non-randomized group in Ghana starting one month earlier. Participants will be involved in household surveys and water quality testing at multiple time points baseline, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Assessments include measuring free chlorine residual and E. coli presence in water at collection points and in household stored water. Researchers will also evaluate water system operator knowledge, consumer awareness, satisfaction, and willingness to pay at baseline, 12, and 24 months. The study uses randomized allocation without masking and will run until September 30, 2025.

Researchers are studying the impact of starting a multidisciplinary obstetrics care program for pregnant women with sickle cell disease SCD in a non-academic hospital in Ghana. The study aims to see if this approach can reduce maternal deaths by 50% compared to before the program began. This is important because SCD significantly increases the risk of death during pregnancy, especially in low-resource settings like Ghana, where such care programs are limited to academic hospitals. The program adapts successful care protocols from an academic hospitals multidisciplinary SCD obstetrics team, including obstetricians, general physicians, anesthesiologists, and nurses. Pregnant women with SCD attending the non-academic hospital will receive care following these protocols. The study uses a before-and-after design to compare mortality rates, with a focus on task-shifting responsibilities to existing hospital staff to improve reach and sustainability. Participants will be pregnant women with confirmed SCD up to 34 weeks gestation, aged 18 to 45, attending the non-academic hospital. The study will monitor maternal mortality up to 40 weeks for each participant. Researchers will collect medical data, conduct interviews, and track outcomes to evaluate the programs feasibility and effectiveness. The study plans to recruit 198 participants over three years, with ongoing assessments to understand barriers and support needed for successful implementation.

Researchers are conducting a randomized control trial to evaluate the Jada4 System, a novel vacuum-induced device designed to treat postpartum hemorrhage PPH, a leading cause of maternal death worldwide, especially in low and middle income countries. The study aims to compare the effectiveness, safety, and cost-effectiveness of this device against standard care in women experiencing PPH, defined as significant blood loss or symptoms of hypovolemia after childbirth. PPH commonly results from uterine atony, where the uterus does not contract properly after delivery. The trial includes two groups one group will receive the Jada4 System when initial medical treatments fail and blood loss reaches 1000 mL this device uses low-level vacuum pressure to help the uterus contract and control bleeding rapidly. The other group will receive standard care which may include additional medications, tranexamic acid, condom catheter balloon tamponade, or surgical interventions if bleeding continues. The device remains in place for at least one hour during treatment, followed by monitoring before removal. Participants are enrolled at two hospitals in Ghana, a country with a high burden of PPH. Participants will be monitored from delivery until six weeks postpartum. Researchers will assess maternal survival without needing surgery, time to control bleeding, hemoglobin levels, blood transfusion rates, surgical procedures, maternal death rates, additional medication use, patient satisfaction, and any adverse events related to the device. The study also evaluates quality of life and cost-effectiveness. Safety and treatment outcomes will be closely followed during this period to determine the devices potential benefits compared to standard care.