Capacity Building Audit

 

On the 5th of October 2011 the KwaZulu Natal MEC for Health Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo visited the district in order to learn more about the research activities being carried out. After a presentation by Dr Frank Tanser about the research activities at the Centre, the MEC asked for details of the Capacity Building activities we have been and are engaged in.

 

Below is the final document sent to the MEC giving an up-to-date picture of the range and extent of our activities in this area:

 

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Our capacity building strategy focus on both our staff and the community in which we do our research.

 

1.    Staff Development Grant

Staff development is done through a grant made possible by the Wellcome Trust, which recognizes that most of the staff members, who are from the local community, were previously disadvantaged and require opportunities to enhance their educational qualifications and therefore their job marketability. The grant pays tuition fees at a rate determined by a formula that depends on the number of successful applicants and the sum of their tuition requirements. The grant pays for any formal programme of study from certificate up to a master’s degree. From 2007 up to 2011, 579 programmes were funded and successfully completed, majority of which were degrees

Programme	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	Total
Certificates	97	12	42	17	11	179
Diplomas	9	7	17	27	14	74
First Degree	35	33	59	44	71	242
Honours	7	2	1	12	0	22
Masters	15	2	1	3	3	24
Matric	0	9	0	0	0	9
ABET	7	7	6	6	0	26
Total	170	72	126	109	99	576

 

2.    Community skills development

Using a computer lab donated by Telkom SA, we trained 1400 community members in computer literacy between 2005 and 2011.  Additionally, we have provided 18 graduates with internships, to help them gain work experience.

 

Using money awarded by the University of KwaZulu-Natal for our scientific publications, we established a project to promote science in local secondary schools by identifying and mentoring a group of students with potential in sciences. To date we have financially sponsored 3 such students to do degrees in medical sciences at national universities, as shown in table below.

Name	Field of study	University	Year of study
Nsizwenye Mkhwanazi	Medicine	UKZN	2nd year
Phindile Mabaso	Microbiology	University of Zululand	2nd year
Halalisani Mpungose	Applied Mathematics	University of Zululand	2nd year

 

As we recruit for our entry level jobs through a community-based system, our fieldworker training programme is now developed into a surveillance data collection certificate of competency, issued by the University of KwaZulu-Natal. To date, 178 community members have successfully completed this training issued with this certificate.

 

3.     Individuals who have completed Masters programme

As already shown in the table under Staff Development grant, the centre has financially aided several staff members to study master’s degrees. The centre is also a training site for the field component of the INDEPTH masters in field epidemiology programme which is hosted by the University of Witwatersrand. Additionally, the centre has also provided data and supervision to masters students from both national and international universities. Below is a table of students who have either graduated or currently doing a master’s degree through financial, supervision and/or data access support from the centre.

Masters Student	Field of study	Where currently based	Completed /On-going
Clifford Mbizana	Psychology	University of Zululand	Completed
Hlengiwe Ndlovu	Public health	University of Zululand	Completed
Catherine  Okumu	Social development	UKZN	Completed
Graeme Hoddinott	Psychology	Africa Centre	Completed
Bomkazi Onini Tutshana	Psychology	HSRC	Completed
Kyle Jones	Psychology	England	Completed
Thembelihle Zuma	Psychology	Africa Centre	Completed
George Otieno	Epidemiology	Kenya	Completed
Vuyani Nyezi	Psychology	Private practice in Durban	Completed
Ntombi Magwaza	Psychology	University of Zululand	Completed
Mkhulekisini Sibiya	Psychology	University of Zululand	Completed
Portia Mutevedzi	Epidemiology	Africa Centre	Completed
James Ndirangu	Epidemiology	Africa Centre	Completed
Natsayi Chimbindi	Epidemiology	Africa Centre	Completed
Daniel Azongo	Epidemiology	Ghana	Completed
Francis Yeji	Epidemiology	Ghana	Completed
Doreen Nabukalu	Epidemiology	Uganda	On-going
Nokuthula Ngubane	Public  health	Department of Health	Completed
Ntombizondwa Mkhwanazi	Public health	Africa Centre	Completed
Misiwe Mzimela	Social science	University of Zululand	Completed
George Adjei	Epidemiology	Ghana	Completed
Paul Welaga	Epidemiology	Ghana	Completed
Christian Nikoi	Epidemiology	Ghana	Completed
Charfudin Sacoor	Epidemiology	Mozambique	Completed
Andrew Anguko	Epidemiology	Kenya	Completed
Bangre Oscar	Epidemiology	Ghana	Completed
Anu Garib	Public Health	UK	Completed
Terusha Chetty	Medical sciences	Africa Centre	Completed
Mbongiseni Buthelezi	MBA	Africa Centre	Completed
Nicoletta Mabhena	Epidemiology		On-going
Pelagia Ndambakuma	Epidemiology		On-going
Mammusa Lekoa	Population Studies	Africa Centre	On-going
Mienziwokhuhle Mthethwa	Social development	Department of Social Development	On-going
Kevi  Naidu	Epidemiology	Africa Centre	On-going
Sureshnee Pillay	virology	Africa Centre	Completed

 

4.     PhD Programme

In the recent years, we have started to aggressively build our own scientific skills by enrolling our staff into PhD programmes at both national and international universities. As shown in the table below, all our staff members doing PhD’s are also supervised by one of our senior scientists. Additionally, we also host and supervise other PhD students from collaborating institutions.

PhD Student	Title of PhD	AC Supervisor	Completed/on-going
Natsayi Chimbindi  (AC Staff)	Barriers to health access	Till Barnighausen	On-going
Graeme Hoddinott (AC Staff)	Methodological dialogism		On-going
Richard Lessells (AC Staff)	TB diagnostics development	Marie-Louise Newell	On-going
Portia Mutevedzi (AC Staff)	HIV in people over 50	Marie-Louise Newell	On-going
Tinofa Mutevedzi (AC Staff)	Adolescent reproductive behaviour	Frank Tanser	On-going
James Ndirangu (AC Staff)	HIV infection in pregnancy	Marie-Louise Newell	On-going
Makandwe Nyirenda (AC Staff)	Impact of HIV in people over 50	Vicky Hosegood	On-going
Johannes Viljoen (AC Staff)	Immunological breast milk HIV transmission	Marie-Louise Newell	On-going
Dumo Mkwanazi (AC Staff)	Disclosure of maternal HIV status	Ruth Bland	On-going
Justen Manasa (AC Staff)	Bio-informatics, ART resistance	Tulio de Oliveira	On-going
Sebastian Fuller (AC Staff)	Men in research	John Imrie	On-going
Lorna Benton (PhD student, UCL, UK)	Fertility and HIV	Marie-Louise Newell	On-going
Lindsey Reynolds (PhD student, Johns Hopkins, USA)	Vulnerable children	John Imrie	On-going
Eva Forbes (PhD student, Glasgow University)	Obesity in children	Ruth Bland	On-going
Stephen Mepham (PhD student, former Staff)	Primary HIV during and after pregnancy	Marie-Louise Newell	Completed
Ruth Blund (AC staff)	Breastfeeding	Marie-Louise Newell	Completed
Tamsen Rochat (AC staff)	Maternal mental health	Marie-Louise Newell	Completed