Page 101 - SAMRC Annual Report 2023-24

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Cochrane
South Africa

Deputy Director:
Dr. Duduzile Ndwandwe

Prioritising responsive research and resources to reach a broader audience and have
through impactful interventions a greater impact.

During the 2023/24 financial year, our main goal Overall, these initiatives were instrumental in
during this period was to launch the GloPID-R Africa empowering both our staff and the community,
hub. This initiative aimed to ensure coordinated thereby promoting equity and dignity in health
funding for pandemic preparedness in Africa. By research and healthcare.
addressing the critical issue of funding coordination,
the GloPID-R Africa hub seeks to enhance Africa's Science for creating a
ability to respond effectively to pandemics. Despite healthier society
the challenges faced, we successfully launched the
hub on in August 2023, laying the groundwork for Cochrane South Africa actively engaged in offering
improved pandemic preparedness and response knowledge translation and evidence-informed
across the continent. decision-making workshops with special focus
on historically disadvantaged institutions like the
Equitable capacity development University of Venda, University of Zululand and
for empowering communities University of the Western Cape, taking our science
and research out of the laboratory and into the
Throughout the 2023/24 financial year, Cochrane community.
South Africa prioritised capacity development
initiatives aimed at empowering both our staff and Feedback from these engagements has been
the broader community, with a focus on promoting overwhelmingly positive, with appreciation for
equity and dignity in health research and healthcare. the opportunity to learn about evidence-based
We organised regular training sessions and healthcare and research methodologies. Participants
workshops to enhance the skills and expertise of our have reported feeling empowered to make informed
staff members, covering various aspects of health decisions about their health and have expressed a
research methodology, evidence synthesis, and keen interest in further engagement with our team.
systematic review processes. Additionally, these interactions have provided
valuable insights into the health needs and priorities
Within our unit, we promoted diversity and of the community, helping to guide our research
inclusivity, ensuring that all staff members had equal efforts and ensure that they are aligned with the
opportunities for professional development and needs of the populations we serve.
advancement. Moreover, we fostered partnerships
and collaborations with various organisations and Overall, these engagements have been instrumental
institutions such as Oxford University, COMET in bridging the gap between research and those who
Initiative to name a few, to expand our capacity need information, ultimately promoting evidence-
development initiatives, leveraging their expertise based healthcare and improving health outcomes.

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