Cochrane South Africa (CSA) is excited to announce becoming an Institutional Member of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Health Inequality Monitoring (HIM) Network as of 7 May 2026. Led by Specialist Scientist Dr Anelisa Jaca, CSA joins the institutions and technical partners committed to advancing health inequality monitoring globally and strengthening the use of equity-focused evidence to inform policy and decision-making.
Health Inequality Monitoring (HIM) focuses on measuring and understanding avoidable and unjust differences in health outcomes and access to healthcare services experienced by different population groups. HIM seeks to identify those left behind in terms of health resource allocation and practice, understanding the drivers of inequality, and informing targeted actions to improve health equity and achieve better health outcomes for all. “You cannot reduce health inequalities unless you first measure and understand them through data, research, and monitoring.” Said Dr Jaca.
Recent South African data from the WHO Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT) illustrate persistent inequalities in the rates of births attended by skilled health personnel, across economic status groups (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Trends in births attended by skilled health personnel across economic status groups for select years between 1998 and 2016. Source: WHO Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT).
The core focus areas of the WHO HIM Network include evidence generation, methods development, and capacity strengthening of Member States. As a Network member, CSA will contribute to all three focus areas through equity-focused evidence synthesis, methodological innovation, training and capacity strengthening activities, and collaborative technical support initiatives.
This milestone presents an exciting opportunity for the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) to contribute to regional and global efforts aimed at advancing health equity. Planned activities include webinars, workshops, conference presentations, and the testing and implementation of innovative HIM frameworks and tools.
Prof Mark Engel, unit director of CSA further added: “We are honoured to join this important global Network and look forward to collaborating with the WHO and other international partners to advance health inequality monitoring across Africa and beyond.”