Health services and systems, rooted in human rights and social justice.

The purpose of the School is to support and train policy  makers and implementers who are knowledgeable and skilled in the principles and practice of public health

UWC Celebrates Tarryn’s Global Achievement in Pharmaceutical Public Health

Tarryn Jeftha, a Master of Public Health candidate at UWC, was awarded a full scholarship to attend the prestigious Pharmaceutical Policy Systems course at the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Belgium, as the only South African participant in the 2025 cohort.

Spotlight on UWC Public Health Research

We’re proud to celebrate Tinashe Zigomo, a PhD student at the UWC School of Public Health, whose proposal on “Barriers and solutions to accessing essential breast cancer medicines in low-resource settings” received a positive review from the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), Antwerp, Belgium as part of their PhD Light Review process.

From Nepal to Cape Town: Reflections on a Journey of Legacy, Learning, and Inequality

What began as an academic visit quickly turned into a deeply personal and transformative journey, one that reconnected me with inspiring mentors, reminded me of shared struggles, and offered fresh perspectives on health systems, justice, and inequality.

New IDRC-GT4Africa Supplement sheds light on what it takes to operationalise gender transformative approaches to improve sexual reproductive and maternal health rights and services in Africa

A new supplement in the African Journal of Reproductive Health showcases what it takes to operationalise gender transformative approaches (GTA) across different African contexts to improve sexual reproductive and maternal health (SRMH) rights and services.

Partnerships and Co-Design Processes for Health and Gender Equality: Insights for Programme Implementers, Researchers and Funders

This session aims to illustrate the promises and pitfalls of working with a co-design approach in implementing a gender-transformative approach into adolescent and young people SRHR intervention. The perspectives of a grant manager, a programme implementer and a public health researcher are discussed in relation to participant’s own experiences.

Advancing knowledge for district health system strengthening: emerging themes from the South African Learning Alliance for the DHS (SALAD)

SALAD is a learning network that connects health services managers at district, provincial and national level with health policy and system researchers. SALAD will reflect on its progress since inception through four themes: M&E, COPC, resource allocation and community-led monitoring while eliciting the perspectives of the attendees using world café.

Toward an ethics of epistemic justice: Research on health disparities related to sexual orientation, gender identity in restrictive settings

The School of Public Health and Women’s and Gender Studies, UWC Jointly invite you to a seminar

Health Justice is Social Justice – 2024 Annual David Sanders Lecture in Public Health and Social Justice

The University of the Western Cape School of Public Health (UWC-SOPH) and People’s Health Movement for the Annual David Sanders Lecture in Public Health and Social Justice

Barriers and facilitators of and strategies for successful community engagement in infectious disease clinical trials in low- and middle- income countries

By: Bey-Marrié Schmidt, Carmen Späth, Myrna van Pinxteren, Primus Che Chi, Charles S Wiysonge, Joy Oliver, Christopher James Colvin

Determinants and rates of retention in HIV care among adolescents receiving antiretroviral therapy in Windhoek, Namibia: a baseline cohort analysis

By: Farai K. Munyani,  Brian van Wyk

Asking the Experts: Using Cognitive Interview Techniques to Explore the Face Validity of the Mental Wellness Measure for Adolescents Living with HIV

By: Zaido Orth, Brian van Wyk

Drivers of retention of the HIV workforce transitioned from PEPFAR support to the Uganda government payroll

By: Henry Zakumumpa, Joseph Rujumba, Marjorie Kyomuhendo, Ilyse Stempler, Woldekidan Amde

The PGD in Public Health aims to provide graduates with an overview of Public Health, with an emphasis on health sector transformation, district health services and the Primary Health Care approach. Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health (NQF Level 8) FIND OUT MORE The Master of Public Health (MPH) aims to equip graduates to: identify, quantify and prioritise health needs at population level; design, implement and evaluate Public Health interventions or programmes and policies; demonstrate leadership in transforming aspects of the health services and system; and to conduct related research. Master Of Public Health – (NQF Level 9) FIND OUT MORE At present we are offering an academically oriented doctorate by thesis only, which implies a very large research project, either written up in a full thesis, or in a format of manuscripts with a beginning and ending sections forming part of the whole thesis. Phd in Public Health FIND OUT MORE Academic Programmes

Report of Activities 2019 – 2020


We have published reports of our activities every two years for about the past twenty years.

This year we are publishing it electronically for the first time, perhaps reflecting the rapidly accelerated replacement of print with on-line resources (although I don’t think I will change my preference for reading in print). But while the electronic format will make the report easily available around the world, easily readable on mobile phones and tablets, I am also aware that the ubiquitous presence of on-line meetings, digital resources and a world of information that can be tapped any time does not mean equitable access. When we surveyed our students and short course participants last year, we learned that while access has increased substantially, bandwidth, data access and data cost, remain substantial barriers