GHENT UNIVERSITY Karoline FONCK - International Centre for ...

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am indebted to Prof Dr Marleen Temmerman who gave me the opportunity to complete this
PhD thesis. She stimulated me first of all to take on the job in Kenya, then to organize, set up
and implement research activities, and finally to publish the results. Without her enthusiasm
and guidance for scientific research in general and for reproductive health in particular, I
would not have succeeded.
Prof Temmerman’s team of the International Center for Reproductive Health (ICRH) at the
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ghent University, supported me all the way
trough. They have been fine colleagues and friends.
I am grateful for having had the opportunity to work with numerous world-known researchers
from the University of Nairobi, the University of Manitoba, the University of Washington, the
University of Oxford and others. It has been an incredible privilege. And I am indebted to a
long list of colleagues and staff in Kenya, many of who have become great friends, for their
continuous support.
I wish to recognize the support of the European Commission, who funded most of the work. I
thank Dr Lieve Fransen for her personal commitment to this work.
I thank the members of the reading committee for the helpful comments: Prof Dr M Dhont
(UG), Prof Dr J Plum (UG), Prof Dr A Meheus (UIA) and Dr Philippe Mayaud (LSHTM).
Special thanks go to my husband Nico and my family without whose support I would not
have had the courage and perseverance to bring this thesis to a good end.
And finally, I wish to dedicate this work to the people I have worked with and who have since
died of AIDS. Their dedication to fight the disease during their lifetime will always be an
example to me.
Thank you all.
Acknowledgements 139