The Center for Social Science Research on AIDS (CeSSRA) was established in 2007 with support from the U. S. National Institutes of Health (R24HD056917, McGrath, PI.) CeSSRA is housed in the Department of Anthropology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and in the School of Social Sciences at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. In 2014 CeSSRA came under the umbrella of Case Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and will continue to expand the CeSSRA mission as the first dedicated ‘social science research laboratory’ in the CFAR network. It is dedicated to building capacity in social science research and to enhance research on HIV and other health problems. It contributes to the Makerere University vision to be research driven and it also aligns with the Ugandan National AIDS strategy.
The Center has two complementary missions:
- To develop and expand local capacity to undertake social science research on HIV/AIDS in Uganda.
- To promote, foster, and conduct social science research on HIV prevention and treatment.
As such, CeSSRA seeks to strengthen the overall research profile of the Uganda social science research community.