UWC School of Public Health

22/05/2026

Navigating the promise and pitfalls of dashboards in health policy decision making: experiences from Ghana, India, and South Africa
by Luxsena Sukumaran and colleagues, including UWC School of Public Health's Mary Kinney, Tanya Doherty, and Asha George
Dashboards and other interactive web-based data visualisation tools are increasingly being developed to inform health policy at global, national, and subnational levels. Dashboards aim to make policy-relevant data accessible to support decision making, priority setting, policy development, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation for those responsible for these functions. However, evidence on how well dashboards fulfil these functions is scarce. In this Viewpoint, we explore the development of dashboards on topics related to children’s health and experiences of actors using dashboards in Ghana, India, and South Africa.
Read the full paper

22/05/2026

🎤 Please join an exciting line-up of panellists for our next conversation in the SA Learning Alliance for the District Health System:
“From Disabling to Trustworthy Leadership: Towards Psychological Safety in the DHS"

3 June 2026 | 16:00 – 17:30 SAST

Register at: https://shorturl.at/9TyrY.

22/05/2026

📢 Call for Proposals: Queering Health Systems, Closing date 3 July
The editorial team includes UWC School of Public Health's Asha George and Phoene Oware.

📢 Call for Proposals and Webinar Invitation: Queering Health Systems

Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters (SRHM), in partnership with the School of Public Health at the University of the Western Cape, is inviting proposals for a themed issue on Queering Health Systems.

👉 We welcome conceptual and empirical contributions exploring:

• Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging: disrupting normativity and reimagining foundations
• How queering health systems addresses structural barriers and health inequities
• Queer-affirming models of care and service delivery
• Health workforce transformation and provider competencies
• Community leadership, agency and accountability
• Data justice, measurement and visibility

🗓 Proposal deadline: 3 July 2026
💡 Mentorship available for less-experienced authors
💸 Full APC waiver for selected manuscripts

🔗 Read the full call for proposals here: https://srhm.infinity.janeway.systems/site/queering-health-systems/

Join our upcoming webinar to learn more about the themed issue and how to submit a strong proposal:

📅 Wed, 20 May
🕒 9am ET | 3pm CET | 6.30pm IST
💻 Online

Hear directly from SRHM’s editorial team and Guest Editors, including:

• Sapna Desai, SRHM Editor-in-Chief
• Asha George, SARChI Chair and Professor at UWC School of Public Health
• Humphrey Ndondo, Guest Editor
• Phoene Oware, Guest Editor
• Pete Chapman, SRHM Managing Editor

The session will cover:
- What makes a strong submission
- The urgency and context of queering health systems
- Live Q&A with the editorial team

Whether you are a researcher, practitioner, activist, or emerging scholar, this is an opportunity to contribute to a timely and transformative conversation.

🔗 Register for the webinar: https://events.humanitix.com/queering-health-systems

13/05/2026

Rethinking How We Address Gendered Workplace Violence in Primary Healthcare Settings: A Dialogue with Abi Badru
Convened by the Imarisha consortium and PSI, the dialogue explored how to address the gender dimensions of workplace violence in PHC settings

Convened by the Imarisha consortium and PSI, the dialogue explored how to address the gender dimensions of workplace violence in PHC settings

07/05/2026

Climate Change and Health – For Frontline Healthcare Workers
Practical -in Person short course
Application deadline: 8th May https://lnkd.in/dcC9MbGG

07/05/2026

A formative evaluation of the TB Think Tank’s role and influence on TB policy in South Africa
by Bey-Marrie Schmidt, Chanelle Mulopo, Lilian Mayieka
Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the leading causes of death globally, despite being both preventable and treatable. South Africa continues to experience a high burden, with an estimated 56,000 TB-related deaths recorded in 2023. In response to this public health crisis, the TB Think Tank (TB TT) was established in 2014 to strengthen the government’s programmatic response to TB. This formative evaluation examines the activities, processes, and outputs through which the TB TT has influenced TB policy between 2021 and 2024, identifies areas for improvement, and provides actionable recommendations to enhance its impact.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the leading causes of death globally, despite being both preventable and treatable. South Africa continues to experience a high burden, with an estimated 56,000 TB-related deaths recorded in 2023. In response to this public health crisis, the TB Think Tank (TB TT) wa...

07/05/2026

Climate Change and Health – For Frontline Healthcare Workers
Practical -in Person short course
Application deadline: 8th May

Practical -in Person short course Application deadline: 8th May

06/05/2026

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Evolution of health policy and systems research (HPSR) capacity in West Africa and authorship pattern: A bibliometric analysis from 2015 to 2024
by Selina Defor, Juliana Gnamon Abe, Irene Agyepong, Uta Lehmann
The generation of HPSR evidence in West Africa has historically been driven by external institutions, with limited leadership from local researchers. Recent investments, including the establishment of the West African Network of Emerging Leaders in Health Policy and Systems Research (WANEL), aimed to strengthen local research capacity. The objective of this study was to assess how authorship patterns and publication outputs have evolved over the past decade.

30/04/2026

HIV Care Through Their Eyes: Navigating HIV Services and ART Adherence Among Adolescents and Their Caregivers in Lusaka, Zambia
by Kaala Moomba, Talitha Crowley, Brian Van Wyk
Adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) face unique psychosocial and structural challenges affecting ART adherence and engagement in care. Despite Zambia’s expansion of adolescent-friendly HIV services, adolescents continue to experience poorer adherence and treatment outcomes than adults, including lower viral suppression and retention in care and limited understanding remains around the experiences of ALHIV and their caregivers. This study explored multilevel factors influencing ART adherence in Lusaka district from the perspectives of ALHIV and their caregivers.

Introduction Adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) face unique psychosocial and structural challenges affecting ART adherence and engagement in care. Despite Zambia’s expansion of adolescent-friendly ...