South African Medical Research Council Champions Research for Health Amidst COVID-19

Cape Town | The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) supports the National Department of Health in our vision of a “long and healthy life for all South Africans.” Globally, we face the greatest test since World War II, the COVID-19 pandemic which has already claimed thousands of lives and caused a worldwide recession reminiscent of the Great Depression. Lessons learnt from the past have certainly made us more resilient in our concerted response against disease outbreaks. We have heeded the call from the beginning through our laboratory investigations, clinical research and public health studies on COVID-19.

To support health care innovation across these research streams, approximately R80 million has been ringfenced by the SAMRC and the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) to catapult research and innovation on COVID-19. R56 million of this already committed to projects covering epidemiology, disease surveillance, treatment and diagnostics. The funds include a contribution of R5 million from the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), specifically for diagnostics and medical devices to be funded through the SAMRC.

As the fight against COVID-19 intensifies, the SAMRC is at the forefront when it comes to public health research. Through our intramural research units we are engaged in a broad spectrum of studies looking into health impacts of COVID-19 and the lockdown across research streams, from Gender Based Violence (GBV), COVID-19 and the Impact on Substance Use, to Prevalence, Clinical Characteristics, and Immunologic Responses and Outcomes of Children with Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19 Disease, among other public health studies.

The “shadow pandemic” of gender-based violence

Globally there is a huge concern about a rise in GBV during lockdown. In South Africa it is not clear whether this has been mitigated by the restricted access to alcohol. It is vital that we understand what has happened and make further strides to preventing women and girls from being exposed to GBV. The SAMRC Gender and Health Research Unit (GHRU) is currently investigating the link and impact of COVID-19 to gender-based violence, mental health, and livelihoods amongst selected population groups.

“If interventions are well designed they have a strong theoretical basis and if they use strong methods, particularly community participatory approaches, then we can see success in addressing gender based violence,” said Professor Rachel Jewkes, Executive Scientist in the Office of the SAMRC President.

The GHRU is also exploring Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Young Women in eThekweni under the COVID-19 Pandemic. The SAMRC’s GHRU, which was instrumental in the development of the National Strategic Plan on GBV and Femicide, has also proposed a study on Femicide and child homicide during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa.

Health Systems Strengthening

Our health systems research includes studies on:

• Community stakeholder knowledge, perceptions, beliefs, behavior and responses to COVID-19 in South Africa;
• Prevalence, clinical characteristics, immunologic responses and outcomes of children with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 disease; and
• The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, interventions and commodities.

Through our extramural research units, we are contributing to knowledge on COVID-19 with experts based at universities and collaborating centres of excellence. The SAMRC’s investments and research and development coordination activities are designed to directly support national efforts to curtail and respond to the pandemic.

Funding has been made available to Professor Shabir Madhi from Wits University (R8 million) towards hospital-based disease surveillance for COVID-19 and its relation to other respiratory pathogens in Gauteng and the Western Cape, with further funding towards community surveillance and understanding immune responses to COVID-19 in HIV-infected and -uninfected individuals, led by Prof Cheryl Cohen from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (R5 million).

In KwaZulu-Natal, Prof Salim (Slim) Abdool Karim is leading an SAMRC and DSI-funded epidemiological study on COVID-19 transmission and natural history in the province, to guide locally appropriate prevention and clinical care. With cases increasing daily, health surveillance of the disease is important for tracking and measuring the impact of the pandemic, which will help health authorities in South Africa and globally.

On the diagnostics front, funds pooled from the SAMRC, the DSI and TIA will be applied towards supporting the development of local capacity to supply reagents for existing gold standard COVID-19 testing, as well as to offer rapid alternatives for the direct detection of the virus. A Request for Applications was published and developers from universities, science councils and local companies were invited to apply. The SAMRC and DSI are also facilitating engagement with the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), the National Health Laboratory Service and local developers to support and streamline the laboratory testing, validation and registration of locally developed diagnostics, including serology tests.

"It's about looking at what components of these test kits and tests could be manufactured locally by  innovators and companies in South Africa who are working in this space, to supply the NHLS with products that can be used for the testing of COVID-19 and reduce reliance on global supply," says Professor Richard Gordon Executive Director at the SAMRC.

Further funding includes a R7.5 million commitment to support two projects, led by KRISP/UKZN and Hyrax BioSciences, working in a collaborative network focusing on SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing to support COVID-19 surveillance and identify and manage outbreak hotspots. The SAMRC and DSI have also committed R1million contributions to each of the SOLIDARITY and CORONATION trials.

“The seriousness of this pandemic has without a doubt forced South Africa and the rest of the world into action, with research becoming more vital,” said Professor Johnny Mahlangu, Board Chairperson of the SAMRC. “In order to achieve an accelerated victory against COVID-19, the country needs to invest more into research and innovation,” concluded Mahlangu.

NOTE TO THE EDITOR:
The Chloroquine RepurpOsing to healthWorkers for Novel CORONAvirus (CROWN) Coronation Trial is an international, multi-site, randomised, double-blinded, placebo- controlled platform clinical trial. This will be undertaken in up to 200 sites internationally from USA, Canada, Ireland, UK, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Australia, New Zealand with the aim of determining the effectiveness of chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine prophylaxis in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in healthcare workers with repeated exposures to SARS- CoV-2.

The SOLIDARITY Trial on the other hand aims to compare the effects on major outcomes in hospital of the local standard of care alone versus the local standard of care plus one of four alternative anti-viral agents. The primary objective of this large international randomised trial is to provide reliable estimates on any effects of these anti-viral treatments on in-hospital mortality in moderate and in severe Covid-19. It will include up to 15 sites in South Africa and is being driven and funded by the WHO.

The SAMRC will be sharing information on our latest projects on COVID-19 through a series of press statements and on our social media platforms.

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