Our story
SEAD was founded by Dr. Tim Tucker and Dr. Peter Manyike. Leaders in HIV programmes and research in South Africa, they met through their involvement in the South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI), a lead programme of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC).
From consulting to on the ground action
As specialists in the fields of clinical virology, pharmaceuticals and vaccinology, Tim and Peter began by consulting to national and international agencies including the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Union. They also worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), advising on how to improve the strategies of the rollout of the HIV plan for South Africa.
Through this work, Tim and Peter identified the need to urgently improve point of care testing and the interface between testing personnel at primary healthcare facilities across the country and the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS), as a lack of accurate and timeous testing was severely hampering the goal of ensuring that people knew their HIV status, got onto treatment and remained on treatment.
SEAD today
Today SEAD is fortunate to work with multiple large stakeholders on a broad range of diverse, high impact initiatives. SEAD has also been at the forefront of developing technology to turn the data it has at its disposal into actionable insights that can enhance its own decision-making and that of its partners.
Almost 15 years later, SEAD is proud of the role it has played in the fight against the HIV epidemic in South Africa and the great strides that have been made in getting people tested and on treatment.