A key driving force of an effective response to health management challenges

The World Aids Day theme for 2025, “Overcoming disruption, transforming the Aids response”, highlighted the critical role of communities as the driving force in overcoming obstacles to the effective provision of HIV/Aids services. It also shone the spotlight on the determination, resilience and innovation of communities and the resulting impact. Two organisations that focus on local-level initiatives recently joined the Africa Centre’s network of collaborative partners.

According to the Africa Centre’s director, Dr Munya Saruchera, the interface between communities, traditional health leadership and knowledge, health policy and protocols and the academic foundations of research and training brought about by these partnerships offer immense potential to make a tangible difference to health outcomes. 

His expectations are grounded in a firm understanding of the drivers of successful community mobilisation. “External role players often exploit communities and subject them to repeated cycles of extractive research, leading to distrust,” he explained. “At the Africa Centre, we understand the nuances of community engagement and what it requires, including investing in relationships, being aware of the protocols between communities and external parties and acquiring a deep understanding of the community dynamics (including elite groups, politics and community expectations in light of unemployment, poverty and broken promises).”

Transforming community health and wellbeing in Royal Bafokeng Nation  

The Koketso Rakhudu Foundation (KRF) is an accredited community education and training centre serving the Royal Bafokeng Nation (RBN), a historically rich mining community of about 150 000 people in North West in South Africa. It is committed to bridging the gap between traditional and future-fit educational practices. The KRF is a division of the Office of Kgosana Dr Koketso Rakhudu, a pioneering traditional and developmental governance institution aimed at fostering community-led growth and resilience in the greater RBN.

The KRF’s programmes focus on providing practical, impactful training and community empowerment. The key programmes include skills development workshops tailored to practical, job-aligned skills, youth empowerment initiatives centred around sports, arts and culture that encourage leadership and teamwork and small business and entrepreneurial support backed by partnerships with ABSA and other institutions.

The Africa Centre has entered into a five-year partnership with the KRF with the aim of empowering and equipping the KRF to support the delivery of comprehensive, accessible health services through evidence-based approaches, academic resources and institutional support. According to Saruchera, the collaboration will build on the existing innovations and public-private-community partnership models already in place in RBN. 

Examples of the planned initiatives include the following:

• Implementing community health training programmes for youth leaders in the RBN, including leadership coaching and mentoring, so that they can serve as peer educators and champions for health education.
• Establishing a robust monitoring and evaluation framework for programmes to evaluate their effectiveness and making adjustments according to community needs.
• Supporting local youth organisations and health providers in offering accessible and culturally appropriate HIV/Aids care, counselling, skills development programmes and short courses.

On a more academic level, the Africa Centre and the KRF will also undertake joint research and research dissemination, engage in policy development and advocacy work and conduct fundraising to support the relevant initiatives.

A multifaceted approach to optimising health outcomes in the Western Cape

The Africa Centre also established a three-year partnership with the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness (DoHW). With the objective of realising a well-managed health system that benefits all residents of the province, the DoHW aims to deliver equitable access to a range of quality and people-centred health services. These services span a wide array of health needs, from child health, family planning, women’s and men’s health and home-based care to emergency medical services, forensic pathology services, TB and HIV/Aids services and psychiatric services.

Combining the Africa Centre’s academic and research expertise with the DoHW’s health management services and projects, community networks and initiatives and advocacy expertise creates a unique opportunity to influence and improve health outcomes in the Western Cape via policymaking, community engagement, research and skills development.

The partnership’s objectives include the following:

• Conduct joint research, evaluation and operational activities on community health and wellbeing, violence prevention and health and publish the findings in scholarly journals and on community platforms.
• Strengthen the capacity of clinical committees and community health groups in the province through fellowships, short courses, training and mentorship.
• Co-develop advocacy strategies and policy briefs to influence key decisionmakers and address structural barriers in health management.
• Facilitate joint local events.
• Disseminate knowledge through publications, academic articles and community-led reporting.
  
  

Equity and respect as the foundation of impact

Effective community development between universities and community groups depends on working fairly, equitably and respectfully with communities. For the Africa Centre, delivering meaningful returns to the communities connected to these partnerships is non-negotiable and we are confident that the planned activities will lead to tangible, transformative benefits in the North West and Western Cape provinces.