This exciting partnership comes after Africa Centre director Dr Munya Saruchera in 2024 observed the DGMT’s increasing focus on the commercial determinants of health as well as youth and children’s health on social media. As the centre was preparing to launch its new name and strategic focus on inclusive health management, recognising the interconnectedness of health challenges and priorities, the opportunity for joining forces was evident.

The DGMT is a public innovator committed to developing South Africa’s potential through strategic investment. Its Rethink Your Drink project was initiated to challenge the norms, policies and industry practices that promote and normalise heavy drinking through research, partnerships, civil society support and advocacy and lobbying.

The Africa Centre approached the DGMT to participate in the Postgraduate Diploma for HIV/Aids Management (PgDip) summer school in February this year. At the summer school, DGMT CEO David Harrison delivered a well-received guest lecture on innovative pricing instruments to reduce the burden of the commercial determinants of health, specifically in the context of excessive alcohol consumption.

In the meantime, Saruchera connected with Kashifa Ancer, campaign manager of Rethink Your Drink (launched in March), exchanging ideas on the intersections of public health, substance abuse and systemic inequality and how to formalise the collaboration. South Africa is one of the heaviest drinking countries in the world, with those who drink tending to do so heavily (more than five drinks in one sitting). The health, social and economic costs and the burden on the country’s health system are severe.

“Both organisations recognised that while each brings a unique perspective, they share a commitment to strengthening systems and supporting communities to thrive,” said Rethink Your Drink project lead Zimasa Mpemnyama. The partnership was made official in early July.

Combining strengths, areas of expertise and networks

The partnership will involve collaboration on several initiatives in education, research and community engagement – the three pillars of the Africa Centre activities – on the theme of harmful alcohol use in the context of inclusive health management. These include the following:

Courses and webinars

• Develop and present in-person and online short courses on relevant topics that focus on the interplay between different aspects of health and alcohol abuse, such as mental health, drug and substance abuse; gender-based violence, sexual violence and substance abuse; and male violence and health. There are also plans to develop crash courses targeted at parliamentarians from the National Council of Provinces and the National Assembly on children and health as well as commercial and other determinants of health
• Incorporate course units on the theme of alcohol harm and its impact on inclusive health in the Africa Centre’s PgDip and MPhil programmes, presented by DGMT experts
• Develop and present webinars on agreed themes

Research

• Undertake and publish research
• Look at integrating the research findings into university teaching curricula and use it to develop and test models and theories to bring applied practice and academic theory together

Community activities

Execute community programmes that drive positive social impact and policy changes and transform perceptions about alcohol and substance use.

Monitoring and evaluation

Undertake baseline studies and impact assessments of project activities and outputs.

The first collaboration under the partnership will involve a session on Rethink Your Drink as a public health initiative presented by Mpemnyama and Ancer at the PgDip winter school at the end of July, followed by joint webinars.

A model for inclusive health management collaboration

Cross-sector collaboration is at the heart of inclusive health management. According to Mpemnyama, the Africa Centre-DGMT partnership models how such collaboration can work in practice “by co-creating solutions, amplifying marginalised voices and promoting health equity”.

In this regard, Saruchera pointed out that the partnership speaks to inclusivity among different role players and sectors of society. “It brings together the academic world – which generates knowledge, undertakes teaching and learning as well as research and community engagement for societal impact – and role players in applied practice, advocacy and monitoring as well as lobbying for positive social change and improved wellbeing and health outcomes.”

Mpemnyama agreed: “When universities, NGOs and public sector actors work together, it becomes easier to align goals, pool resources and ensure that communities are not just passive recipients of programmes but active partners in designing and delivering them. Ultimately, this is what sustainable, inclusive health management looks like: collaborative, evidence-driven and anchored in local realities.”

For the DGMT, the partnership enhances its ability to ground advocacy in evidence and to engage health professionals, students and policymakers through robust learning platforms. “It also brings critical rigour to our work by inviting academic partners to reflect on, evaluate and strengthen our public health interventions,” Mpemnyama added.

Collaboration as a necessity

Strategic partnerships have been a key aspect of the Africa Centre approach since day one, and with the centre’s new strategic focus on inclusive health management, collaboration has become even more critical. As Saruchera highlighted: The work that needs to be done to promote and sustain inclusive health management is bigger than any one organisation. The intrinsic links between the issues and priorities that need to be addressed make for a complex scenario. That is why there is a growing need for different role players such as the Africa Centre and the DGMT to combine their strengths – to the benefit of the communities, society, nations and the world.