Kliniken &… Institute Heidelberger Institut… Partner

Centre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna (CRSN)

Over the past 30 years, the institute has a particularly close cooperation with the Centre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna in Burkina Faso. This research center developed from a large public health research project which started in 1989. In 1999 it was fully integrated in the organigram of the Ministry of Health directly affiliated with the Cabinet of the Minister of Health. The CRSN Nouna was also a founding member and has been a leading partner in the Africa-Asia research network "INDEPTH" since its inception in 1999.

The partnership between the two institutions has been very active in evaluating new policies in the field of public health and on infectious diseases. Particularly the infectious diseases malaria, bacterial meningitis and HIV/AIDS have been investigated. The center has also been pioneering and scientifically evaluating new policies in the field of public health, e.g. in the area of health insurance or the improvement of quality of care. With the large and long-term collaborative grant on "Control of tropical infectious diseases" other research areas were built up: a parasitological and biological lab, clinical trial capabilities, and most recently an environmental/meteorological information system. The core data base linking all these research areas is a dynamic population-register of deaths, births and migration, called "health and demographic surveillance system" (HDSS).

The parasitological and biological laboratory is entirely integrated into the District Hospital. Laboratory services offered to in- and outpatients include routine diagnostic tests in hematology, biochemistry, microbiology, serology and parasitology. The CRSN laboratory has become the leading PCR laboratory for HIV detection and the microbiology unit is foreseen as a regional reference laboratory for meningitis surveillance. The increasing experience with phases II and III clinical trials, CRSN and Nouna District Hospital are developing into a site meeting international standards.