Institute awarded R1.6 billion for healthcare research
The Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) has received a R1.6 billion award from Wellcome Trust to respond to urgent healthcare challenges.
The seven-year grant will support AHRI's scientific research towards achieving its vision of optimal health and well-being of under-resourced populations.
AHRI is based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). It is at the heart of global HIV/TB co-epidemic in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Their research focuses on understanding and responding to diseases that are the major causes of illness and death in South Africa.
This includes HIV, tuberculosis (TB); emerging infections, such as Covid-19 and neglected infections such as hepatitis B; and adolescent mental health.
Professor Willem Hanekom, AHRI executive director, said the grant is a vote of confidence in their ability to produce excellent scientific research.
“We believe our broad research value chain, from population to basic sciences, and strong collaborations with communities - as well as other research stakeholders - place us in a unique position to address some of the most pressing health challenges facing under-resourced populations globally,” said Professor Hanekom.
AHRI’s is an independent, transdisciplinary scientific research institute based across two campuses in KwaZulu-Natal - Durban and Somkhele. The R1.6-billion Wellcome Trust grant will enable AHRI to expand its research over the next seven years to address key questions, including:
How can HIV be prevented in rural communities?
How can HIV be cured?
How can TB spread be prevented in rural communities?
Do new vaccines prevent TB disease?
How can new infections such as Covid-19 be identified early and controlled?
How can mental health disorders in rural adolescents best be treated?
Chief research programmes officer at Wellcome Trust, Cheryl Moore, said AHRI is well-positioned to lead world-class research into long-standing threats such as TB and HIV.
“It is also advancing research into newer, but no less significant, challenges such as Covid-19 and adolescent mental health. AHRI brings together scientific expertise across a diverse range of research fields, coupled with strong links to local communities. Wellcome is proud to continue to partner with AHRI to support outstanding African-led science, working to improve health outcomes for communities in South Africa and across Africa,” said Ms Moore.
Wellcome Trust supports discovery research into life, health and wellbeing, and is taking on three worldwide health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health.
Professor Mark Emberton, Dean at University College London (UCL) Faculty of Medical Sciences, added that AHRI is a significant partner for UCL in Africa.
“Our shared commitment to excellence allows for robust academic exchange and opens new avenues for translating research into tools and therapies to benefit the health of under-resourced populations,” he said. “Wellcome's funding for an additional seven years adds a new chapter of sustainability and progress to our journey.”
The grant will also support AHRI in its mission to train the next generation of African scientists.
AHRI is uniquely positioned to respond to urgent health challenges. Twenty-eight faculty members drive the institute’s cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research. AHRI hosts a world-leading health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) in rural northern KZN, and its laboratories are among the most sophisticated in Africa.
The institute’s dedicated clinical trials unit tests new vaccines and drugs, while implementation trials are used to find the best ways to bring health innovations to people.
AHRI’s research is coupled with public engagement and extensive collaboration within local and international networks.
