Wits RHI is a renowned African institute in a world-class African University tackling the continent's health challenges through science and innovation.
(1)
Wits RHI addresses some of the greatest public health concerns affecting our region, focusing on HIV/TB, sexual and reproductive health, and vaccine-preventable diseases.
27/03/2026
A powerful step forward in the fight against 💙 . Wits RHI is proud to be part of the newly launched , an innovative study strengthening HIV treatment in infants by integrating broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) into early care. At , the study is led by Dr Faeezah Patel, Maternal & Child Health Senior Medical Officer and Principal Investigator, who also serves as Vice-Chair of the ENABLE Project’s Internal Exploitation & Sustainability Committee (IESC). Funded by Global Health EDCTP3 and the European Union, ENABLE brings together 21 partners across Africa, Europe, and the US to drive scientific innovation and improve early HIV treatment outcomes for infants. Read more | https://wrhi.ac.za/press-release/enableproject/
27/03/2026
This World TB Month, we spotlight impact. Wits RHI, led by Prof Lee Fairlie, is advancing the M72/AS01E vaccine trial driving a turning point in bringing us closer to a future free of đź’™African-led. Impact-driven.This is progress.
Find out how a community approach to developing a new TB vaccine and learning from the past has led to the M72 vaccine
27/03/2026
A turning point in the fight against and Wits RHI is leading from the front. From the powerful leadership of Prof Lee Fairlie on the M72/AS01E vaccine trial, to community voices like Fanyana Ngubane, this work is transforming how TB is prevented, understood, and addressed. It’s more than research it’s people, partnership, and progress. 💙
26/03/2026
Wits RHIcelebrates excellence. At the 2025 Wits Faculty of Health Sciences Honours Celebration (24 March 2026), our researchers were recognised for global impact, leadership, and innovation. Prof Helen Rees received the Dr Lee Jong-wook Memorial Prize, Leadership appointments to global research bodies. Prof Sinead Delany-Moretlwe recognised for Mpox research funding. Assoc Prof Busisiwe Mkwananzi promoted Read more: https://bit.ly/2025FacultyHonours
24/03/2026
Yes! You and I Can End TB – . affects thousands in South Africa every year. At Wits RHI, our teams fight TB through research, clinical programmes, and vaccine studies, working hand-in-hand with communities to prevent transmission and save lives. Your action counts: screen, test, treat. Together, we can end TB. Learn more: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-tb-day/2026 | World Health Organization (WHO) World TB Day 2026.
23/03/2026
Wits RHI at . Join Associate Professor Sibusiso Mkwananzi on 24 March (14:00–17:15, Nairobi) for a powerful session on Extreme Heat & Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH). Discover practical strategies to protect health workers and communities across South Africa and Zimbabwe. Don’t miss out – find out how to join: https://bit.ly/3PzZYkP
HIGH Horizons
20/03/2026
New research shows that clearance of high-risk types can increase a woman’s risk of acquiring . Findings from / highlight the importance of and integrating into cervical cancer programs.
Read more: https://bit.ly/3NiavR8
20/03/2026
Vaccination Making a Difference. New research led by Wits RHI Prof Sinead Delany-Moretlwe shows school-based HPV vaccination is dramatically reducing cancer-causing HPV strains in South African girls including those living with . Wits - University of the Witwatersrand Wits Faculty of Health Sciences
Vaccination programme protects girls even if they later become infected with HIV
20/03/2026
📍Happening TODAY. Climate change is already impacting SRHR. Join this important webinar featuring Wits RHI Prof Sibusiso Mkwananzi as she shares insights on: Climate change & SRHR in South Africa. 11:00–12:30. Webinar link: https://lnkd.in/dQG5ByCZ
#
18/03/2026
New research published in The Lancet Global Health provides the first population‑level evidence globally that a national vaccination programme can be highly effective in a high HIV‑prevalence setting. The study was led by researchers from at the Wits - University of the Witwatersrand in partnership with the Kirby Institute.
The study evaluated South Africa’s free, school‑based national vaccination programme, introduced in 2014, which offers HPV vaccination to girls in Grade 4 (aged nine years and older) attending public schools across the country. Crucially, the research assessed vaccine impact among adolescent girls and young women both living with and without HIV, reflecting the realities of South Africa’s dual HIV and cervical cancer burden. Read the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/dGB3f3rQ
18/03/2026
Landmark Study Alert. South Africa’s national HPV vaccination programme is saving lives even among girls living with HIV. For the first time at a population level, researchers show early, school-based HPV vaccination provides excellent protection against cervical cancer. A major public health success and a global message: invest in early HPV vaccination and protect future generations. Read the full press release: https://bit.ly/471SRru
17/03/2026
Did you know? Women living with are up to 6x more likely to develop cervical cancer. New research from KwaZulu-Natal shows: We can change this.
But only if we scale up:
✔️ HIV treatment
✔️ HPV vaccination
✔️ Cervical cancer screening
At Wits RHI, we’re working towards integrated solutions that save lives. Read the full study: https://bit.ly/3PbrJAa
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Wits RHI posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Wits RHI was founded in 1994 by Prof Helen Rees. In consultation with the democratically elected South African government, she founded the Reproductive Health Research Unit (RHRU) at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Recognising that the old health research agenda did not address the needs of all South Africa’s citizens, a new research agenda was developed aimed at shaping new health policies. As co-author of the Maternal, Child and Women’s Health policy, Prof Rees established RHRU as a research and training institution focused on sexual and reproductive health and later HIV as an emerging epidemic at that time. The work then combined clinical, epidemiological, health systems and behavioural research to help formulate national health policy.
A small RHRU team worked from Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, supported by grants from the Kaiser Foundation and the UK’s Department for International Development. The RHRU’s partnering organisations included the Medical Research Council, and international agencies such as Family Health International. In 2005 the organisation moved from Soweto to Hillbrow in inner city Johannesburg as it expanded its work to include a much closer relationship with both the City of Johannesburg and the Gauteng Department of Health.
The RHRU’s early research focused on contraceptive access, microbicide development, safe abortion, and female condom development. Key to this early work was the establishment of partnerships with local communities where the Unit’s work was taking place.
The ethos of the organisation was, and remains, to place its clients/ beneficiaries at the centre of its work and this was achieved primarily through the establishment of community advisory boards.
The RHRU/City of Johannesburg partnership expanded to the Gauteng Health Department and the private sector, and the vision of the Hillbrow Health Precinct (HHP) was born, driven by the RHI. This world-first project took derelict heritage buildings in the abandoned Hillbrow Hospital and restored them for community-based clinical and social services, with integrated state of the art clinical and laboratory research facilities utilised by RHRU.
In 2010, the RHRU was designated an Institute by Wits University in recognition of its research outputs and international standing, and the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (Wits RHI) was established.
Wits RHI has utilised the research base offered by the HHP and the inner city, to develop a comprehensive research agenda that spans clinical, epidemiological, behavioural and health systems research, and implementation science.
To date Wits RHI has estalished a national network of research sites across the country. Wits RHI now has more than 74 grants under management. Funding is sourced both internationally and locally, and includes substantive grants from the Department of Health, National Institutes of Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, European Union, the World Health Organization (WHO), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Unitaid and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
The Institute now has a staff complement of more than 1400 staff, with 25 staff who are at researcher level or above.
