Infectious diseases and pandemic preparedness
Overview
Our aspiration is to end life-threatening pandemics and epidemics in Africa.
Every year, malaria, HIV and TB kill over 2.4 million people in Africa and globally more than 1.7 billion people require treatment for at least one neglected tropical disease. Outbreaks like bola and Covid-19 pose major threats, killing thousands and weakening health systems.
While significant progress has been made in prevention and treatment of infectious diseases over the past few decades, we can’t stop at ‘almost’ – especially when resources are constrained.
The calls for resilient health systems that are capable of preparing for, detecting, tracking and responding to pandemics – known and unknown. A pipeline of innovations in vaccines, diagnostics and medications have the potential to transform pandemic response and impact.
We have been at the forefront of the response to major epidemics for over two decades. Our reputation is built on a foundation of impactful, evidence-based work. We have helped countries optimise their HIV and TB funding requests to the Global Fund, strengthened regional collaboration through platforms like the South to South HIV Prevention Learning Network, and supported the scale-up of public health innovations related to wastewater surveillance and introduction of new health technologies for HIV prevention.
Projects
Estimating the extent of mobility among PLHIV and TB in South Africa and its effect on treatment outcomes
We undertook a mixed-methods approach to understand the scale and nature of this issue. We conducted a comprehensive literature review and undertook key informant interviews to explore the reasons why people disengaged from HIV and TB treatment. This work uncovered important information about policy gaps, administrative hurdles, and stigma-related barriers.
Driving Public Health Insights: A Transformative Approach to Disease Surveillance
We collaborated with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on a significant longitudinal household cohort study in South Africa. This work was central to strengthening the country's system for monitoring vaccine-preventable illnesses and informing national immunisation policy.
