INTRODUCTION: The Vaginal Microbiome Research Consortium for Africa (VMRC4Africa) study is a multicentre observational cohort study. We aim to enrol parallel cohorts of 100 women from two sites in two African countries (N=200) (Desmond Tutu HIV Centre [DTHC], South Africa
Kenya Medical Research Institute [KEMRI], Kenya) to evaluate detailed temporal fluctuations in vaginal microbiota in young, generally healthy women from Southern and Eastern Africa. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Cohorts in Kenya and South Africa will be followed up twice a week for 10 weeks to create detailed profiles of vaginal microbial community state types (CSTs
by 16S rRNA gene sequencing) and fungal communities (by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing) and to identify women with stable DISCUSSION: Through the establishment of this African vaginal sample biorepository, the intention will be to cultivate ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The VMRC4Africa study has been granted ethical approval by the Human Research Ethics Committees in South Africa (UCT HREC: 611/2022) and Kenya (KEMRI Scientific and Ethics Review Unit: SERU No. 4569). Deidentified microbial community compositional data will be made available on public databases. Results of the study will be published in peer-reviewed journals.