Page 103 - SAMRC Annual Report 2024-2025

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Learners taking part in the development of the development of the Imagine Game.

Through our Learning Action Network, Invest4Health, proposals will be announced in the 2024/25 financial
we have promoted innovative financing mechanisms year. A total of R60 million will be allocated to this
and outcomes-based contracting approaches to call for proposals.
address some of Africa’s most pressing health and
related social development challenges. We continue The OATB has represented the SAMRC at the
to explore the potential of innovative financing Pandemic Treaty Negotiations in Geneva and the
strategies for pandemic preparedness, cataract G20 Joint Finance and Health Task Force. We will
surgery and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. continue to be involved in these important bodies
in the next year.
Key Milestones and Achievements In order to scale up our Imagine Social Impact Bond,
The OATB played a leading role in the development we have strengthened our existing partnership
of a successful country pandemic fund application with TIKO, a non-profit that leverages technology
which is being funded by the Pandemic Fund through to transform sexual and reproductive health for
WHO. This was a multi-stakeholder collaboration underserved girls in urban and peri-urban Africa
between SAMRC intra and extramural units (Burden facing the ‘triple threat’ of teenage pregnancy, HIV
of Disease Research Unit and Environment and and sexual violence. Together, the SAMRC, NACOSA
Health Research Unit), academics from various and TIKO are leveraging their respective strengths
institutions and national government departments. to develop a sexual and reproductive health
This grant is in the region of R60 million and will fund intervention for in-school and out of school AGYW
work related to genomic, wastewater, mortality and financed through an outcomes-based intervention.
syndromic surveillance of both human and animal
pathogens using a one health approach. Building Capacity Through
Training, Mentorship, and Support
The OATB, together with GIPD, created a partnership
with the French ANRS to bring together South One of the OATB staff is registered for her PhD with
African and French TB scientists in the fields of new Stellenbosch University. OATB staff supervise three
drug, diagnostic and vaccine discovery as well as public health medicine registrars at the University
subclinical TB, TB transmission and aerobiology and of Pretoria with Master of Medicine degrees in
paediatrics. A joint call for proposals was launched advanced HIV disease, HIV adherence in adolescents
and 20 proposals have been reviewed. Successful and non-tuberculous mycobacterial disease.

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