Recipient organisationAfrica Health Research Institute
Other organisations recorded by Europe PMCLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · University College London · University of AlabamaThese are researcher affiliations; the award is counted once under the primary recipient above.
Funding£73.5M
PeriodSept 2023 — Aug 2030
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
A research institute in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, is expanding its focus beyond HIV and tuberculosis to tackle adolescent mental health and emerging infectious diseases. The province carries the world’s highest rates of HIV and TB, but these are not the only health crises. Depression and anxiety disorders among adolescents are a major, growing burden locally and globally, yet remain under-researched in African populations. The institute also aims to build on its COVID-19 work to study neglected infections that disproportionately affect under-resourced communities. If successful, the institute’s integrated approach—linking fundamental science, clinical trials, and community-based studies—could produce evidence that directly shapes health policy and clinical practice in South Africa and other low-resource settings. For example, better data on adolescent mental health could lead to school-based screening programmes or affordable treatment protocols. The work is not purely curiosity-driven; it targets specific, actionable health problems. However, much of the fundamental science on pathogen biology and immune responses will generate knowledge whose practical applications may emerge years later, as happened with HIV research that underpinned antiretroviral therapy.
View original technical description
AHRI’s vision is optimal health and well-being of under-resourced populations. We conduct research on important, intractable and intersecting health problems which impact well-being and mortality in South Africa and globally. The highest prevalence of HIV and TB, globally, is in our province; our research on these infections will therefore continue, with new strategic directions. We will introduce research on emerging and neglected infections, building on extraordinary impact of our Covid-19 science. We will build a new research programme in adolescent common mental health disorders, which is a very significant local – and global – health challenge. AHRI is uniquely placed to address these challenges: we focus on research questions for which we have a competitive advantage and exploit our integrated research value chain of basic, translational, clinical, population and social sciences. We will introduce innovation in all these areas, while fostering a research culture of well-being and scientific success. We regard training of the next generation of African scientists as a priority. We cannot achieve success alone – we will nurture academic partnerships and optimise public engagement, particularly with our research communities. Our ultimate goal is impact on scientific knowledge, practice and policy, in South Africa and beyond.
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