There are about 38 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Congo. The country of the clinical trial is determined by the location of where the clinical research is being studied. Most studies are often held in multiple locations & countries.
The project aims to investigate if trauma-related disorders and appetitive aggression can be reduced in former ex-combatants in DR Congo when a specific intervention (Narrative Exposure Therapy for Forensic Offender Rehabilitation, FORNET) is delivered by trained local personnel (phase 1). In a second step, the project aims to investigates the treatment success if this specific therapy is carried out by local personnel who have been trained by other local personnel ("train the trainer", phase 2) under the supervision of experts of the University of Konstanz.
The purpose of the study is to obtain efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetic (PK) data following treatment with artemether-lumefantrine dispersible tablet in infants < 5 kg of body weight (BW) with uncomplicated falciparum malaria.
The main research question of the study is whether a family-based, life-skills focused psychosocial intervention is effective in reducing psychological distress and stigma and improving inter-personal relations and functioning among war-affected children in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The investigators are interested in knowing whether a group-based, trauma-focused intervention (Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) is superior to a more general, non trauma-focused, psychosocial intervention (Child Friendly Spaces) in reducing post-traumatic stress, depression and anxiety and conduct problems and increasing pro-social behavior among war-affected children in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
To date, no RCT has examined the efficacy of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Sexually Exploited, War Affected Adolescent Girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This study seeks to fill this gap by designing, implementing and testing such an intervention using both an intervention and waiting list control group.
A cluster-randomized controlled trial will be conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo to compare rates of early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding between mothers who give birth in hospitals with the current standard of care, mothers who give birth in hospitals that have implemented the first nine steps of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, and mothers who give birth in hospitals that have implemented all ten steps of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, with the 10th step being the provision of breastfeeding support during well-child clinic visits.
This is a bi-centric phase IIIb, randomized, open label, 3-arm clinical trial performed to investigate the impact of retreatment with an Artemisinin-Based Combination (ACT), for example Arthemeter-Lumefantrine (AL) in Uganda (Ug) and artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) in RDCongo, on malaria incidence and its potential selection of resistant strains. Patients will be followed-up for efficacy and safety during 42 days after treatment with the first line therapy recommended by the national authorities(arthemeter-lumefantrine in Uganda and artesunate-amodiaquine in RDCongo) and retreated the patients either with the same ACT or an other ACT or oral Quinine + clyndamicin. The investigators hypothesize that (re)treatment with the first line ACT treatment beyond 14 days is as efficacious as any other rescue treatment, without the risk of selecting drug resistant strains.
Two in every three infants in rural areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) suffer from stunting of linear growth by 12 months of age. Stunting presumably results from breast milk supplementation after 6 months of age with complementary foods (CF) that provide inadequate protein and micro-nutrients. Although supplementation with selected micro-nutrients may avoid certain deficiency states, CF with animal source foods may be necessary to avoid stunting. Meat is not readily available in many Central African countries. However caterpillars, which are locally available and abundant, are a common staple in adult diets and may be a suitable substitute for animal source proteins in CF. The investigators developed a cereal made from dried caterpillars that has a nutrient content that appears to be ideal for CF and demonstrated maternal and infant acceptability. This study will investigate the efficacy in prevention of stunting of growth resulting from inadequate complementary foods. A sub-study will evaluate the biologic effects of the caterpillar cereal to determine whether caterpillar cereal prevents iron deficiency anemia, reduces the incidence of neurodevelopmental impairment or infectious diseases.
Two in every three infants in rural areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) suffer from stunting of linear growth by 12 months of age. Stunting presumably results from breast milk supplementation after 6 months of age with complementary foods (CF) that provide inadequate protein and micronutrients. Although supplementation with selected micronutrients may avoid certain deficiency states, CF with animal source foods may be necessary to avoid stunting. Meat is not readily available in many Central African countries. However caterpillars, which are locally available and abundant, are a common staple in adult diets and may be a suitable substitute for animal source proteins in CF. The investigators developed a cereal made from dried caterpillars that has a nutrient content that appears to be ideal for CF. Maternal and infant acceptability will be evaluated in 20 mothers and their 8 month old infants. The investigators hypothesize that this cereal will be accepted by both mothers and infants: acceptability will be based on a priori definitions.
The specific aims of this project is to determine the impact of a daily intake of one half ounce of lyophilized meat between 6-18 months of age (0.5 oz for 6-12 mo; 0.75 oz for 12-18 mo) on linear growth velocity, zinc and iron intakes and status, brain growth and neurocognitive development, and infectious disease morbidity in populations traditionally dependent on non-micronutrient fortified plant foods for complementary feeding.