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Director of Research Unit: Associate Professor John Ataguba BSc (Econ) Nigeria MPH (HealthEcon) PhD (Econ) Cape Town
The Health Economics Unit (HEU) works to improve the performance of health systems in Sub-Saharan Africa through research in health economics, training, consultancy and capacity-building. The core objective of the HEU are to conduct high quality research in health economics and health systems; to train at the post-graduate level to improve technical research and health systems capacity; to develop capacity in health economics and related health systems research in Africa; and to provide technical support to facilitate the translation of health policies into practical programmes.
The HEU was established in early 1990 in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town (UCT). The HEU works to improve the performance of health systems through informing health policy and enhancing technical and managerial capacity in sub-Saharan Africa. Its foundation is academic excellence in health economics and related health system issues.
History
The development of the Health Economics Unit (HEU) was made possible by the recruitment of a Health Economist (Emeritus Professor Di McIntyre) to work in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at UCT in the late 1980s. A number of public health specialists (Drs Steve Taylor, William Pick and Max Bachmann) collaborated with Emeritus Prof McIntyre to establish the HEU at the beginning of 1990.
The unit was initially envisioned as primarily a research organisation, but the urgent need for developing health economics capacity both within South Africa and the African region more generally was soon recognised and training activities were initiated. From modest beginnings of a single full-time health economist and part-time inputs from supportive public health colleagues, the HEU has developed a thriving and diverse research portfolio, substantive postgraduate programmes at the masters and doctoral level and extensive technical support activities.
Vision
Our work at the HEU is guided by the following vision:
The HEU will be a world-class independent authority in health economics, health policy and systems. It will lead in publishing innovative research which addresses priority conceptual and methodological issues in low- and middle- income countries. It will play a key role in global post-graduate training in health economics and offer expert policy advice on relevant issues in sub-Saharan Africa. To achieve this, the HEU will pursue a balance of mainstream and developmental health economics drawing on a strong human resource base with a full range of relevant skills and a diversity of nationalities and backgrounds.
Objectives
The four core objectives of the HEU are:
Principles
HEU is committed to the following guiding principles:
Contact Information:
Health Economics Unit
School of Public Health and Family Medicine
Faculty of Health Sciences
University of Cape Town
OBSERVATORY
7925
South Africa
Administrative Officer: Mrs Latiefa Adams
Tel: +27 21 406 6558
Fax:+27 21 448 8152
Email: Latiefa Adams
The HEU has developed a reputation for rigorous, high quality, health economics research and has established a strong research to policy track record. We conduct research in the following areas:
Since 1990, the HEU has contributed to health policy through research and policy committee activities in the areas of health care financing, equitable health systems, and analyses of priority disease areas and interventions.
Research Institutions and Universities
Networks, Consortiums and Associations
International Organisations
Government
John Ataguba, Associate Professor and Director
Email: John.Ataguba@uct.ac.za Phone: 021 404 7701
John Ataguba is an economist. He is also a Commonwealth scholar and an elected member of the South African Young Academy of Science. He has taught topics in economics for over 10 years. His current research interests include poverty, inequality, equity in health and health care, social determinants of health, and health financing. |
Susan Cleary, Associate Professor
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Edina Sinanovic, Associate Professor and Head of Division: Health Economics
Email: Edina.Sinanovic@uct.ac.za Phone: 021 406 6575
I am Associate Professor and Head of the Health Economics Division in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town. I have training in economics and health economics. I did my PhD at the LSHTM, and have worked in the field of health economics in South Africa since 1997. My research falls within three areas: economic evaluation of health care interventions, especially in relation to tuberculosis, HIV, cancer and STIs; economic considerations in vaccination, with an emphasis on the economic modelling of new vaccines; and the cost of scaling up health care interventions. I have extensive teaching and student supervision experience. I teach Theory and Application of Economic Evaluation in Health Care on the MPH, and Economic Evaluation for Health Care Decision Making on the Postgraduate Diploma in Health Economics. My doctoral students are studying topics including economic evaluation of interventions for prevention of pediatric drug resistant TB, extended cost effectiveness analysis of publicly funded interventions for early detection and treatment of breast cancer, and cost-effectiveness of models of prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV intervention. I am a member of the Executive Committee of the Pharmaceutical & Technology Clinical Management Association of South Africa (PTCMA), with a focus on research and education. I have served on the WHO Immunization and Vaccines related Implementation Research (IVIR) Advisory Committee. In 2020, I was appointed a member of the Strategic Scientific Advisory Board of the Botnar Research Centre for Child Health (BRCCH) at the University of Basel, Switzerland, which is dedicated to advancing global child and adolescent health. |
Olufunke Alaba, Senior Lecturer
Email: Olufunke.Alaba@uct.ac.za Phone: 021 406 6576
Olufunke Alaba is a Senior Lecturer in the Health Economics Unit and convenor of the Health Economics track in the Master of Public Health Programme. She is involved in teaching and research of health economics and health policy issues as well as the application of various Economic principles and tools to understanding and improving health outcomes, observed differentials in health and health outcomes, promoting economic growth and development. Olufunke joined the Transformation Committee as Chair in February 2020. |
Sumaiyah Docrat, Lecturer
Email: s.docrat@uct.ac.za Phone: 021 406 6129
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Lucy Cunnama, Research Officer
Email: Lucy.Cunnama@uct.ac.za Phone: 021 406 6754
Lucy Cunnama started working in the Health Economics Unit in May 2012. Her undergraduate degree was in Physiotherapy, after which she worked in the Eastern Cape at a rural hospital. Working in this environment inspired her to study public health and she finished her Master’s (MPH) degree in 2011, specializing in Health Economics. She currently supervises five MPH students, is on the Departmental Research Committee for the School of Public Health and Family medicine, co-convenes and teaches on the MPH health economics track and leads a module for the online Postgraduate Diploma in Health Economics. She is also a Health Economist on the Department of Health’s National TB Think Tank. Her research interests include economic evaluation; access to health care in the South African setting; tuberculosis diagnostics and treatment; paediatric pneumonia; and models of care relating to the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. |
Tommy Wilkinson, Research Officer Email: Tommy.Wilkinson@uct.ac.za Phone: 021 406 6558 |
Amarech Obse, Post-Doctoral Fellow
Email: Amarech.Obse@uct.ac.za
Amarech Obse has joined the Health Economic Unit in 2015 as a post-doctoral research fellow. Her main area of research is health care financing and economics of stated preferences. Her current research focuses on analysis of health financing mechanisms and reforms in Africa and their effect on the Universal Health Coverage, the role of legal framework and regulations for private healthcare services under publicly funded systems in low- and middle-income countries, and preference elicitation for healthcare services. She holds a Ph.D from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Her Ph.D research provided an |
Diane McIntyre |
Geetesh Solanki |
Name | Description | Telephone No | |
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Latiefa Adams | Postgraduate Administrative Officer | ![]() |
021 406 6558 |
Vanessa Daries | Fieldwork Manager | ![]() |
021 406 6537 |
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