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The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is a global health initiative launched in 2003 with the goal of comprehensively combating the devastation due to HIV/AIDS around the world. Implementation science is the study of methods to improve the uptake, implementation, and translation of research findings into routine and common practices (the "know-do" or "evidence to program" gap). The scope of implementation science is broader than typical biomedical research; it seeks to improve program effectiveness and optimize efficiency, including the effective transfer of interventions from one setting to another. The methods of implementation science facilitate making evidence-based choices between competing or combined interventions and improving the delivery of effective and cost-effective programs. A rigorous implementation science research agenda is needed to improve program delivery in PEPFAR and to increase the global impact of proven HIV/AIDS modalities in prevention, treatment, and care. While scientific knowledge to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS has expanded substantially, scientific advances regarding the implementation of effective interventions have not kept pace. There is an unmet need for implementation science research to inform approaches and investments for public health programming and policy making. For example, research is needed to improve the dissemination and uptake of effective interventions, to deliver effective interventions most efficiently, to improve the transfer of interventions from one setting or population to another, to test the effectiveness of “at scale” combination prevention interventions, and to conduct comparative effectiveness studies to better inform choices between competing interventions. The answers to these questions should improve the operations and efficiency of a proven prevention, treatment or care intervention, and should be applicable across a broader range of targets, strategies, settings, and populations.

There is substantial expertise in the scientific community to address implementation science research questions, including questions in the fields of operations research, epidemiology, sociology, health economics, health services research, anthropology, statistics, political science, policy analysis, and ethics.

Vision: " Creating a sustainable platform for R&D innovation in Africa to address Africa’s own health needs"

The African Network for Drugs and Diagnostics Innovation (ANDI) was launched in Abuja in 2008. Its goal is to promote and sustain African-led product R&D innovation through the discovery, development and delivery of affordable new tools, including those based on traditional medicines. ANDI will also support capacity and infrastructural development. A task force was established to develop the strategic and business plan for ANDI through a broad consultative process. This plan is seen as an important contribution towards the implementation of the Global Strategy on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (GSPOA). ANDI is a coordinated and results-driven effort that builds on existing activities in Africa. With strong elements of public-private partnerships, it generates and manages intellectual property and explores innovative mechanisms to encourage and reward local innovation. The new group will identify, manage and grant funding to support network activities, while proactively establishing sustainable funding mechanisms for its operations