South-African Higher Education Institutions as drivers of change for health and wellbeing

Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being is essential to achieve sustainable development. The complex interrelationships of factors affecting human and animal health, the well-being of the population and universal health coverage, require a move away from siloed to integrated and collaborative approaches which incorporate diverse disciplinary perspectives as exemplified by the One Health, “Whole of Society” approaches to health (cf. interlinkages).In this South African programme, the two partners, Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases (DVTD, University of Pretoria) and School of Public Health (SOPH, University of the Western Cape), will work together aiming to contribute to the long-term goal to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable populations in South Africa and beyond,making sure no one is left behind. Each partner will have a specific pathway of change and entry point to this long-term goal. DVTD will focus on infectious diseases of poverty in vulnerable, rural populations living at the interface and using a global One Health approach, while SOPH will focus on health policies, systems and services, especially those related to pharmaceutical public health. Through platform and network development, quality education, and lifelong learning opportunities, we will contribute to building and connecting the next generation of African researchers and global health leaders capable of enhancing synergies between sectors in improved health. This human potential will, in turn, build the capacity of African countries to establish and address their own health priorities. Moreover, we will identify strategies to minimize disease risk and improve access to affordable quality medicines and vaccines and translate them in changed practices and policy. Overall, we aim to enable South-African Higher Education Institutions as drivers of change, ultimatelycontributing to the improved health and well-being of vulnerable populations in South Africa and beyond.

Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being is essential to achieve sustainable development. The complex interrelationships of factors affecting human and animal health, the well-being of the population and universal health coverage, require a move away from siloed to integrated and collaborative approaches which incorporate diverse disciplinary perspectives as exemplified by the One Health, “Whole of Society” approaches to health (cf. interlinkages).In this South African programme, the two partners, Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases (DVTD, University of Pretoria) and School of Public Health (SOPH, University of the Western Cape), will work together aiming to contribute to the long-term goal to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable populations in South Africa and beyond,making sure no one is left behind. Each partner will have a specific pathway of change and entry point to this long-term goal. DVTD will focus on infectious diseases of poverty in vulnerable, rural populations living at the interface and using a global One Health approach, while SOPH will focus on health policies, systems and services, especially those related to pharmaceutical public health. Through platform and network development, quality education, and lifelong learning opportunities, we will contribute to building and connecting the next generation of African researchers and global health leaders capable of enhancing synergies between sectors in improved health. This human potential will, in turn, build the capacity of African countries to establish and address their own health priorities. Moreover, we will identify strategies to minimize disease risk and improve access to affordable quality medicines and vaccines and translate them in changed practices and policy. Overall, we aim to enable South-African Higher Education Institutions as drivers of change, ultimatelycontributing to the improved health and well-being of vulnerable populations in South Africa and beyond.