Project Archives — University of the Western Cape

9 November 2026

How one district leveraged national frameworks to transform facilities and improve quality of care

Mpumalanga’s Gert Sibande District reframed the Ideal Clinic/Hospital and Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC) assessments - frequently seen as compliance tools –to guide and support system wide improvements for all primary health care (PHC) and hospital facilities. Using a multi-level, phased and multi-pronged approach over 3 years, the district achieved Ideal Clinic Status, Ideal Hospital Status, and OHSC certification of all 73 PHC facilities and 9 hospitals, while also improving patient outcomes.

9 November 2026

Introduction to South Africa’s District Health System

The DHS is the foundation of South Africa's public health system and the platform for delivering primary health care. It provides promotive, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative services; builds health governance closer to users and communities; implements change; and generates bottom-up innovation.

9 November 2026

Introduction to the South African Learning Alliance for the District Health System

SALAD is a learning network and community of practice, established in 2023, bringing together researchers and decision-makers across provinces to: enable knowledge generation, sharing and learning; identify and disseminate innovations and priorities across provinces; strengthen the DHS for improved health outcomes. Learn more about the network in this briefing note.

3 November 2026

Lessons in organising and scaling up mentorship as workplace-based support in health systems

On 7 September 2026, the South African Learning Alliance for the District Health System (SALAD) hosted a one-hour organised session at the World Congress on Public Health in Cape Town, South Africa.

3 November 2026

Public-private partnering: DHS experiences

On 14 October 2026, SALAD hosted a webinar featuring two pairs of presentations. The first pair focused on the public sector’s perspective and the second on the private sector’s, with audience engagement in between. Across these presentations, attendees heard about how public-private partnering can advance the District Health System (DHS).

2 November 2026

SALAD featured in national article on psychological safety in the District Health System

The South African Learning Alliance for the District Health System (SALAD) features in Spotlight’s new in-depth piece, How to thaw a health system frozen in fear, by Joan van Dyk.

21 October 2026

Collaborative learning and co-creation as catalysts for health system strengthening

On 9 September 2026, SALAD hosted a one-hour organised session at the World Congress on Public Health in Cape Town, South Africa. The session, which was attended by more than fifty local, national and international delegates, included an introduction to the DHS and SALAD as a learning network before a four-person panel shared their perspectives collaborative learning for health system strengthening.

16 October 2026

Reflections on Quality: transforming a District Health System meeting into a space of learning

When quality meetings had lapsed, one Cape Town substructure re-launched them as quarterly Reflections on Quality (RoQ) sessions built for reflection, peer learning and wider participation. Junior staff now engage with managers as colleagues — and learning is spreading across the district, at no extra cost.

9 October 2026

Shaping the future DHS leader

This September 2026 webinar featured several current and former DHS leaders, each sharing practical knowledge they wish they'd had when they started. Themes discussed include stakeholder management, self-management, navigating complexity, and data-informed decision-making.