GIPD hosted the 4th Africa Health Research and Innovation Funders Forum (AHRIFF) and the Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (MNCH) Funders Convening at SunSquare Cape Town City Bowl, South Africa, from September 2 to 5, 2024.

The SAMRC proudly took part in the official launch of the 2024 National Science Week (NSW), held at the Central University of Technology in Bloemfontein on Saturday, 28 September 2024 which was attended by hundreds of school learners.

World Environmental Health Day 2024 focuses on "Environmental Health: Creating Resilient Communities through Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation." This theme highlights the urgent need for communities to bolster their resilience against environmental hazards and the impacts of climate change. With increasing climate events and natural disasters, building resilience has never been more critical.

Beneficiaries of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Mid-Career Scientist Programme (MCSP) continue to showcase their remarkable achievements. Two notable successes are recent outstanding awards of a Lifetime Achiever and Trailblazer for Prof Refilwe Nancy Phaswana-Mafuya and the appointment of Prof Salome Maswime as the Director of the newly established World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre.

South Africans should be concerned about the spread of mpox in the country with certain variants rapidly spreading between humans, including through sexual contact.