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  • Research
  • Education and Training
  • Policy
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  • China
  • Malawi
  • Peru
  • South Africa
  • Uganda
  • United States
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Countries

• Comunidades Positivas
• Epicentro

Programs

Peru

The UCLA Program in Global Health conducts multiple HIV and STI research projects in coastal Peru. A multidisciplinary team of scientists from both the U.S. and Peru specializing in medicine, epidemiology, anthropology, sociology, psychology, social work, and informatics collaborate on research projects ranging from large, community-based HIV/STI prevention trials to smaller, ethnographic or lab-based projects.

Peru is experiencing a concentrated HIV epidemic, where the rate of HIV is greater than 5% in high-risk populations and less than 1% in the general population. Sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, disproportionately affect men who have sex with men (MSM) in Peru; research projects underway, such as Comunidadas Positivas, attempt to address this reality.

UCLA PGH in Peru provides opportunities for incoming global health scholars. Students from the fields of infectious diseases, emergency medicine, public health, epidemiology, and international health have received support to coordinate in-country research experiences, ranging from 3 months to over a year. All students participated in active research projects and contributed to published manuscripts. We are working towards the establishment of a formal institutional structure to support students, scholars, physicians, and other public-health practitioners interested in global public health research and program experiences in Peru.

In addition to research, PGH has worked with Lima's gay community to create an independent, nonprofit organization called Epicentro, whose mission is to improve the lives of gay men in Peru through community building, social and economic empowerment, and the promotion of healthy lifestyles.