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Health Economics Unit - Stellenbosch University

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Health Economics Unit - Stellenbosch University

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A unit in the Health Systems and Public Health Division transforming health through economic evidence

28/10/2026

The test is the cheapest part. 💡

For women screened for cervical cancer in Lesotho, the screening and treatment themselves cost less than US$1 per visit. So where does the real cost come from, and what does it mean for cervical cancer elimination?

Our PhD candidate and sessional lecturer, Thatohatsi Sefuthi, explores this in a new study published in Frontiers in Public Health with Dr. Cari van Schalkwyk and Prof. Lungiswa Nkonki, Head of the Health Economics Unit, who co-supervises her PhD.

The team surveyed women at the Senkatana Cervical Cancer Centre of Excellence to uncover the hidden costs patients carry, from the first screening visit through to treatment. These are costs that are rarely captured in provider-focused evaluations.

Congratulations, Thato, on this important contribution! ✨

📖 Read the full open-access paper to see what the women told us: https://lnkd.in/dKR5UKAZ

21/10/2026

“Train people to use the methods, not simply to repeat the rules.” 💡

On 19 October, Prof Lungiswa Nkonki presented “South African Experience and Practical Application” at the 15th Annual Conference of the ISPOR South Africa Chapter. The conference was held at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), University of Pretoria.

Her talk was part of the session on Sharing Capacity Building Experiences, chaired by Leigh Scholtz and Waarisa Fareed-Brey. She traced South Africa’s journey towards health technology assessment (HTA) for universal health coverage (UHC):

- In 2022, HTA work was fragmented across the public and private sectors.
- Since then, the country has gained national HTA methods guidance and the NHI Act.
- This year, standardised methods and templates have been made publicly available on the National Department of Health’s HTA portal.

She also made the case that the health economics workforce is part of the health system. Demand for health economics skills is growing faster than the supply of trained people. Short courses help fill immediate gaps, but lasting capacity needs structured training, research-led learning, supervision and a strong pipeline of future teachers.

Thank you to ISPOR South Africa for the platform and for keeping capacity building on the agenda. 👏

19/10/2026

Building models that shape health policy 📊

Thandokazi Mvelashe (MPhil candidate) and Francis Kwame Salman (PhD candidate) from our unit recently attended Economic Research Southern Africa’s (ERSA) five-day intensive workshop on Health Economic Evaluation: Decision Analytic Modelling, held at the University of Pretoria from 28 September to 2 October 2026.

The course was led by Dr Alice Zwerling of the University of Ottawa. It covered:
decision analysis and Markov modelling
uncertainty and sensitivity analysis
budget impact analysis.

Mornings were for lectures, and afternoons were for hands-on work in Excel and R. In the afternoons, participants also worked in small groups to build a policy-focused modelling proposal, which they presented on the final day.

Thank you to ERSA for this valuable capacity-building opportunity, and congratulations to Thandokazi and Francis on securing a place on the course. 👏

Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

14/10/2026

When health systems research meets global health leadership 🌍

Our second-year MPhil Health Systems (Health Economics track) student, Nomaphelo Krakri, had the privilege of meeting Dr. Precious Matsoso at the 4th National Pharmacy Conference this week. Dr. Matsoso is a former Director-General of the National Department of Health and co-chaired the WHO negotiations on the Pandemic Agreement.

Nomaphelo’s research looks at how public health emergency financing is operationalised, so it was a timely opportunity to discuss Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery with one of the leading voices in the field.

Conversations like this remind us why bringing different voices into health systems thinking matters. We’re proud to see our students taking part in these spaces and adding to the conversation. 💛

09/10/2026

And that’s a wrap! 🎉

The Stellenbosch University Health Economics Unit closed off its final writing retreat of the year, and we’re leaving with more than just finished drafts. There were great conversations, shared ideas and exciting plans for 2027.

A big thank you to our team for showing up, putting in the work and cheering each other on along the way. 💛

Researchers, what helps you get your best writing done?

06/10/2026

Health Economics Unit Writing Retreat | 5-7 October 2026

This week, members of the Stellenbosch University Health Economics Unit stepped away from the usual routine to focus on what matters most in research: protected time to think, write and plan together.

The retreat opened with a session on our writing goals and an International Health Economics Association Congress planning session, followed by a capacity-building session led by Prof Lungiswa Nkonki and Dr Funeka Bango.
Our MPhil Health Systems (Health Economics track) students are pushing their research assignments towards submission, and work is also underway on a number of papers, reports and reviews.

We also began mapping out 2027, including upcoming short courses in systematic reviews of economic evaluations, economic evaluation, priority setting and healthcare financing. Watch this space!

Thank you to everyone for the energy, focus and collaboration. 🌿

03/09/2026

Congratulations to Sahil Bhugwan, 2nd year MPhil Health Systems student in our Health Economics track, on presenting his research poster at the Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences 70th Annual Academic Day (27–28 August) ✨

His poster, "Is there a correlation between life satisfaction (MSLSS subscales) and adolescent sexual risk-taking," examined how domain-specific life satisfaction, rather than overall well-being alone; relates to adolescent sexual risk behaviours, using data from the "If I Were Thabo" feasibility trial. Findings pointed to the "Self" life satisfaction domain as a consistent correlate of greater sexual risk-taking, offering valuable insight for future adolescent sexual health interventions.

Well done to Sahil and his supervisor, Prof Lungiswa Nkonki, for this important contribution to adolescent health research.

This work is supported by the South African Medical Research Council through its Research Capacity Development Initiative.

Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University - Division of Health Systems and Public Health

27/08/2026

Prof. Nkonki joins the ISPOR South Africa Conference 2026 faculty 🎓📊

We’re delighted to see Prof. Lungiswa Nkonki, Head of the Stellenbosch University Health Economics Unit, joining the faculty for the ISPOR South Africa Chapter Conference 2026.

Prof. Nkonki will contribute to Session 3: Sharing HTA Capacity Building Experiences, which brings together perspectives from South Africa, Ethiopia and India. She will close the session by reflecting on the South African experience and, importantly, what it will take to translate lessons from capacity-building initiatives into approaches that work within our own health-system context.

As South Africa continues to strengthen the use of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in healthcare decision-making, conversations like these are important for building the skills, institutions and partnerships needed to support transparent, evidence-informed priority setting.

We’re looking forward to the discussion! 🙌🏽

Stellenbosch University - Division of Health Systems and Public Health
Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Stellenbosch University

14/07/2026

Last week, 6-9 July, our second-year masters students participated in a thesis and dissertation writing workshop facilitated by the Stellenbosch University Language Centre.

The workshop focused on strengthening academic writing for research impact, with practical sessions on literature reviews, coherence and flow, argumentation, information management, and academic writing style.

For emerging health economics and health systems researchers, strong writing is more than a technical skill; it is how ideas are organised, evidence is interpreted, and research contributions are communicated with clarity and purpose.

A sincere thank you to the SU Language Centre team for equipping our students with valuable tools to support their research journeys.

09/07/2026

🏆 HEU celebrates an outstanding achievement in health economics! ✨

Congratulations to our colleague, Thatohatsi Sefuthi, PhD candidate in Public Health (Health Economics), guest lecturer at Stellenbosch University, and Senior Technical Advisor: Health Systems Strengthening at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), on winning 1st Prize in the Wits/PPS Health Economics for Africa Initiative Postgraduate Essay Competition 2025/26! 🎉

The Health Economics for Africa Initiative provides a platform for undergraduate and postgraduate students across the continent to explore critical health economics challenges with real implications for health systems and policy in Africa.

Thato’s winning paper examined the patient costs of cervical cancer screening in Lesotho, revealing that although screening services are provided free of charge, patients continue to face substantial indirect and productivity costs when accessing care.
Her research highlights the importance of same-day screen-and-treat approaches to reduce financial hardship and improve access to lifesaving cervical cancer services; an important contribution to advancing equitable, patient-centred healthcare.

This achievement reflects the impactful research being undertaken within the Health Economics Unit and demonstrates how rigorous health economics research can inform policy and strengthen health systems across Africa.

Congratulations once again, Thato! We are incredibly proud of this well-deserved recognition. 👏

We also acknowledge the mentorship and support of Prof Lungiswa Nkonki, Dr Cari van Schalkwyk, and Prof Frikkie Booysen (Wits/PPS Chair in Health Economics) in supporting this outstanding work.

🎥 Learn more about the competition and the winners here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQ7E29u2b0Uw

Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Stellenbosch University - Division of Health Systems and Public Health

Address

Francie Van Zijl Drive, Parow
Cape Town
7505

Opening Hours

Monday	09:00 - 16:00
Tuesday	08:00 - 16:00
Wednesday	08:00 - 16:00
Thursday	08:00 - 16:00
Friday	08:00 - 16:00

Telephone

+27219389111

Website

http://www.sun.ac.za/english/faculty/healthsciences/global-health/health-systems-public-health

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