Page 45 - SAMRC AnnualReport 2025-26

P E R FOR M A NC E I N FOR M A T I ON

government revenue to inform policy and protect
effective obesity prevention measures.

The Centre is also examining the economic burden
of multimorbidity, which is the coexistence of two or
more chronic conditions, by quantifying its costs to
both the public healthcare system and patients. This
work aims to inform responsive clinical guidelines
and health policies.

Research on health system strengthening at the
primary healthcare level includes developing a Multimorbidity in Africa: Digital Innovation,
costing and digital dashboard for multimorbidity Visualisation and Application Research
management, integrating point-of-care lung Hub project.
ultrasound into the Integrated Management of
Childhood Illness (IMCI) guidelines for paediatric
pneumonia, and evaluating the Practical Approach Internally, the Centre supports postgraduate
to Care Kit (PACK) for multimorbidity management. training at doctoral, master’s, and postgraduate
These studies are intended to support sustainable diploma levels, while building a diverse pipeline
financing, implementation, and scale-up of proven of researchers from historically underrepresented
low-cost interventions. groups. PRICELESS SA leads the Master of Public
Health (Health Economics) programme at the Wits
With the implementation of the National Health School of Public Health and contributes to teaching
Insurance (NHI) Act, PRICELESS SA is contributing and student supervision.
to the development of technical guidelines and
has developed a healthcare benefit design tool to Emerging researchers are embedded in applied
support transparent and equitable priority setting policy projects, gaining practical experience in health
economics, public health law, ethical priority setting,
under the NHI.
and participatory research. Staff development is
Research on food environments and obesity further strengthened through targeted short courses
prevention remains a core focus, including studies in in economic evaluation, qualitative methods, data
schools, hospitals, and universities, alongside policy analysis, and decision modelling. Currently, four
staff members, all women of colour, are enrolled in
analyses aimed at enabling reform within state- postgraduate studies, including MPhil degrees and
owned institutions. Participatory research methods PhDs.
are also used to engage children and adolescents
in food policy analysis, ensuring that policies reflect Externally, PRICELESS SA delivers teaching and
young people’s lived experiences and perspectives. short courses in health economics, economic
evaluation, and health priority setting to public
In addition, the Centre undertakes policy and health professionals, policymakers, civil society
legal scholarship on dietary intake, the commercial organisations, and students across Africa. These
determinants of health, and conflicts of interest in programmes equip decision-makers with the skills
public health policy. to allocate resources transparently, ethically, and in
ways that protect vulnerable populations.
Building Capacity Through The Centre also advances dignity-centred research
Training, Mentorship, and Support through participatory approaches that engage
communities in healthcare priority-setting and
Capacity development is central to PRICELESS involve vulnerable groups, including children and
SA’s mission to advance equity and dignity in adolescents, in food policy research. Through
health research and healthcare. The unit invests partnerships with government, universities, advocacy
extensively in developing the skills of staff, students, organisations, and international collaborators,
policymakers, and communities, with a strong PRICELESS SA continues to strengthen regional
emphasis on inclusive decision-making and fair capacity in health economics and equitable health
resource allocation. systems research.

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