Paper short abstract:

There are lessons to be learned from anthropological involvement in clinical and community-based trials that contribute to both anthropological knowledge and ethical conduct of trials

Paper long abstract:

In the last decade there has been a more prominent involvement of anthropologists in intervention trials, particularly HIV prevention trials. With the recent Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) epidemic there has also been a strong argument for the involvement of anthropologists in EVD prevention and treatment trials. Drawing on my anthropological work in a microbicide trial, an EVD vaccine trial, and a community-based trial testing interventions to prevent gender-based violence (GBV), I will discuss both the challenges and the possibilities that emerge from this role. This includes discussions about ethical conduct of trials, broader ethical issues surrounding trials including rumours, materiality, social relations and also on understanding local socio-economic realities. I will also discuss how an anthropological lens on HIV and GBV trials which aim to "empower' women (whether technologically, socially or economically) can contribute to wider anthropological debates about gender and power.