SAMRC Strengthening Health Systems with a $400, 000.00 funding boost

The SAMRC is injecting $400, 000.00 into South African health and medical research funding to address strategies for supporting health systems to improve equitable health outcomes globally.

“This investment reflects a deliberate shift toward implementation science that ensures proven interventions translate into real-world impact, particularly in health systems that serve the most vulnerable populations,” said Prof Ntobeko Ntusi, President and CEO of the SAMRC.

Under the 10th 2025 SAMRC and Global Alliance for Chronic Disease (GACD) funding call, two projects will be funded, focusing on implementation science to address equity in health outcomes. The research will aim to reduce the prevalence and impact of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

One of the awarded initiatives seeks to understand why most people with chronic conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure stop treatment, especially people with mental health or substance use challenges. This will be done through a program called ‘Siyakhana’ (supporting each other), which trains community health workers and adds peer recovery coaches to community-based health teams to better support patients with multiple conditions. Led by Professor Bronwyn Myers of Curtin University, and supported by the South African Medical Research Council, Co-Principal Investigator Prof Nadine Harker, the study will test whether the Siyakhana program can affordably be expanded to improve NCD care engagement among South African patients with mental health and substance use disorders.

Building on evidence from Uganda and Tanzania, the second project explores how the integration of HIV and chronic disease services can improve patient outcomes without compromising HIV care. The STRIDES project, led by Dr Tilahun Haregu from The Baker Institute and Associate Professor Peter Delobelle from the University of Cape Town (UCT), will strengthen primary healthcare teams in South Africa and Uganda to deliver integrated, people-centred care for chronic diseases like HIV, diabetes, and hypertension, creating a scalable model for other low- and middle-income countries.

“These projects demonstrate how locally grounded research can inform scalable, people-centered models of care, with relevance not only for South Africa but for other low- and middle-income countries,” said Ntusi.

The GACD is an international network of health and medical research funding agencies that supports joint research activities on chronic NCDs in LMICs and in underserved groups experiencing health disparities in high-income countries.

All funding details can be downloaded on the GACD funding call webpage

For further information and interview requests, please contact:

Ms Yolanda Phakela
SAMRC: Public Relations Manager
Email: Yolanda.Phakela@mrc.ac.za