South-African higher education institutions as drivers of change for improving the health and wellbeing of vulnerable populations

Duration

2022-2026

Lead institutions

Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM)

Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria (UP)

Academic partners

Veronique Dermauw

Marinda C. Oosthuizen

Project status

Ongoing

General objective

This collaboration focuses on infectious diseases at the human-rural interface (One Health), affecting vulnerable populations in rural areas, as well as on pharmaceutical public health, systems and policy.

Summary

The programme strengthens capacities to apply One Health interventions that tackle poverty-related infectious diseases, zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), aligning the needs of disadvantaged communities with academic rigour. To this end, the Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases (DVTD) develops innovative education approaches such as virtual laboratories, a Masters and Doctoral preparatory programme and One Health field sites for applied research. In collaboration with ITM, DVTD also offers the Joint MSc in Global One Health, develops tools for knowledge translation and promotes networking within and beyond South Africa.

Secondly, the School of Public Health of the University of Western Cape develops training curricula and courses in pharmaceutical public health and builds institutional and network capacity for doctoral education. The School also undertakes research in this area, focusing on AMR drivers and stewardship, pharmaceutical policy evaluations and pharmacovigilance.