
Professor Pascal Bessonq of the Virology Department at the University of Venda provides another important perspective on the impact of careful data collection and analysis that HAPG has provided. In 2001, whilst pursuing his doctoral studies, Pascal came across the work of Cecile on a trip to Bela Bela. At the time, he was undertaking research on HIV and genetics to identfy what was happening to the HI-virus over time, and whether new mutations were developing in parts of South Africa. He recognised the important role that HAPG had played in being the first to provide people with access to drugs, long before policy frameworks had been developed by the state. As HAPG has provided treatment five years before government and has consistently collected data around the treatment and its effects on patients, including bloods tests, it provided a rich opportunity to undertake detailed research at whether resistance was being developed by the virus. Two papers have been published from this study, both of which have had important implications for understanding the genetic impact of the treatment on the virus structure. This reflected an important contribution of HAPG to scientific enquiry.