Page 113 - SAMRC Annual Report 2024-2025

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Building Capacity Through death. The programme is accredited for Continuing
Training, Mentorship, and Support Professional Development (CPD) points by the
Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA)
BODRU continues to support capacity development and is available at www.deathcertification.org.
and transfer of skills in burden of disease methodology By the end of January 2025, more than 2 768 medical
essential to the work of the unit. In addition to in
situ training and elective short courses, staff are practitioners and students had registered, with more
encouraged and supported to pursue postgraduate than 70% successfully completing the course.
studies to build skills relevant to the unit's needs. In
the past year a staff member completed an MPH and Navigating the Impact of US
four others are currently enrolled in postgraduate Executive Orders on Funding
programmes, including 3 PhDs and one masters. BODRU has like most units at the SAMRC been
Furthermore, one of our professional support staff is affected both directly and indirectly by the US
completing an undergraduate degree and another executive orders. Direct effects include research
is enrolled for postgraduate studies. GCP training is
ongoing for all research and administrative staff. projects that have been temporarily suspended
and uncertainty about the long-term viability of four
BODRU staff are also mentoring and passing on staff positions partially funded by US government
their skills to the broader scientific community to sources. Indirectly, the South African Demographic
grow the pool of people with research and burden and Health Survey, which at the SAMRC was being
of disease skills in the country through supervision coordinated by BODRU will be substantially delayed
of postdoctoral, doctoral and master’s students. by the withdrawal, at extremely short notice, of
Senior staff, some of whom hold honorary positions funding for crucial project inception work, including
as research associates and professors, are involved protocol finalisation, and a collaborative workshop to
in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching at finalise data instruments that had been planned for
the Universities of Cape Town, Stellenbosch, the February 2025. The broader environmental impact
Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Greenwich.
of hollowed-out research funding and infrastructure
The Unit also provides a free online training platform on the Unit's ability to harness scientific expertise
to doctors to improve medical certification of cause of and support should not be underestimated.

WHO Afro Region Kigali training.

SAMRC ANNUAL REPOR T 2024-25 111