Page 122 - SAMRC AnnualReport 2025-26

Health Services to
Systems Research Unit

UNIT DIRECTOR:
Prof. Asha George
asgeorge@uwc.ac.za

Overview of the Research Unit includes research on social determinants of health,
intersectoral collaboration, gender transformation,
The Health Systems Strengthening Unit (HSSU)
operates within the multidisciplinary field of health and public health responses to emergencies.
policy and systems research, which examines how Key Milestones and Achievements
societies plan, manage and finance health services,
as well as the roles and interests of different actors In partnership with the University of Cape Town
within health systems. Recognising that health (UCT), North-West University and the North West
systems determine whether interventions and Provincial Department of Health, the Unit is co-
reforms are effectively implemented, the HSSU’s designing and trialling a novel Systems Leadership
mandate is to conduct research and build research Development Programme, with a commitment from
the province to scale up implementation based on
capacity on how actors, processes and contexts the programme’s outcomes.
interact to shape the everyday functioning of
health systems. Through approaches grounded Prof Tabana led a Wellcome Trust-funded evaluation
in co-production, human-centred design and of the “Let’s Talk About Vaccines” project in
economic evaluation, the Unit generates evidence Mozambique and Malawi, which applied human-
to strengthen health systems in South Africa and centred design and community-based participatory
beyond. research approaches to address barriers to
childhood vaccination. The project generated
Given the multi-actor and multi-level nature several high-impact publications, including a
of health systems, the HSSU’s work covers a “Paper of the Month” recognition in BMC Research
wide range of interconnected themes. At local Involvement and Engagement.
and district levels, the Unit concentrates on In collaboration with UCT and the Western
district health systems, primary health care, and Cape Department of Health and Wellness, the
community health systems, which are among the Unit completed a comprehensive review of the
most decentralised parts of South Africa’s public Healthcare 2030 Strategy (2016–2023), laying the
health sector and are vital for achieving universal foundation for a prospective evaluation of the
health coverage, implementing the National Health strategy’s implementation through to 2030.
Insurance Act, and advancing the Sustainable
Development Goals. The Unit also examines policy Prof George and Dr Mary Kinney led a collaboration
with African and global partners to undertake
processes and reforms at provincial, national, a health policy analysis of the Global Financing
and global levels, producing evidence on health Facility. In 2025, findings from the project were
system governance and policy implementation. disseminated through a Global Health Action journal
Additionally, the HSSU adopts a broader “systems supplement, a global policy dialogue convened by
for health” perspective, recognising that factors PMNCH on maternal and child health financing, and
beyond healthcare influence health outcomes. This a range of policy-oriented dissemination outputs.

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