11 November 1999
Master of Ceremonies, Distinguished guests, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to attend this occasion to celebrate 30 years of the Medical Research Council's existence. It is an occasion at which I feel compelled to say a few words to thank the MRC for its contributions to medical and health research, as well as to put forward a number of challenges for the year 2000 and beyond.
In order to fully appreciate the significance of this occasion, maybe we should cast our minds back a few years: In 1991 and in 1993 five representatives of organisations involved in community-based research in South Africa attended the WHO Geneva conference on Essential National Health Research (ENHR). These organisations includes four Non-Governmental Organisations and the MRC.
In April 1994, in support of the ANC Health Plan, the MRC and the alliance of progressive health NGOs' endorsed ENHR. In December 1994, the new Department of Health took the initiative to organise a national meeting of stakeholders in health research to plan the implementation of ENHR. Most participants of that meeting were willing to consider the role of ENHR in South Africa and its relevance to their particular constituency. In March 1995, a National Technical Committee was appointed to further develop recommendations for the implementations of ENHR.
When the Department of Health held the first Essential National Health Research Congress in 1996, the main aim was to set a research agenda to address priority health problems, and to build-in equity in health research.
Later in 1998, when the second conference was due, it had become abundantly clear that there wasn't enough communication between the research fraternity, policy makers, providers of health care, and recipients of care, and consequently there was very little progress made, if any at all, regarding operationalizing the basic principles of ENHR. A lot of money was being spent on research, and yet none of us could confidently say it was money well spent, or that national health problems were effectively being addressed by solutions that had been informed by research. In fact, everything was going on as if there had never been a 1991 or a 1993; neither a 1994 nor a 1996.
The value of that 1998 conference, apart from the wealth of research information that was shared, was that for the first time all major stakeholders- researchers, users of research who are decision makers in policy formulation, the health providers and recipients of health care and other beneficiaries of research - were brought together, and jointly adopted resolutions on the health questions to be answered by research, the management of research, and the use of such research and research results.
The effect this had, especially in the research and programmes directorates in the Department, was most significant; we saw plans and programmes being adjusted in line with information gained at the conference; we saw programmes responding to research questions, we saw colleagues outside the department re-define their interventions and collaborative efforts to be more relevant and more effective, and we witnessed the beginning of serious cultivation and nurturing of more co-operative and harmonious working relationships between all stakeholders.
I am recalling this little piece of history because of its poignancy in illustrating how easy it is to continue in the same straight line despite all efforts to effect meaningful change; and yet, on the other hand, it also illustrates the immense potential of research to influence the direction of health systems, and indeed to determine the health destiny of a people.
More poignant though, is how, in the midst of what seemed to be a totally non-progressive, unrelenting environment, an environment that had been there for a long, long time, there were individuals, who, in some instances as far back as 25 years ago, had the vision and the willingness to identify and put their energies into what would be best for South Africans, rather than what would be the most interesting research topic, individuals who were committed to capacity building long before it was a cliche`, individuals to whom ethics were a genuine concern, and not a response to international pressure or professional sanction.
It is these individuals that I stand here today to honour, and to applaud their outstanding work, and to thank, on behalf of all those unknown beneficiaries of their research work.
Government is firm in its commitment to the upliftment of the health status and well-being of its citizens. This is coupled with a commitment to relevant science and technology support to ensure that all available tools, innovations, and intelligence are applied to improve the health of communities. In this regard the Medical Research Council is expected to take a central role and be a major player amongst all relevant stakeholders.
The challenge for the MRC is to appropriately manage the tension that often exists between conducting relevant operational and health systems research aimed at improving health status, and being a part of the international scientific community at cutting edge of new innovative basic science research.
South Africa is sitting in a health transition where communicable diseases and diseases of poverty are high, while diseases of affluence and lifestyle also have a firm grip on us. The HIV/AIDS epidemic requires special mention. This disease which none of us expected or anticipated, is costing vast amounts of resources and impacting negatively on social, economic and health development. Similarly tuberculosis and other re-emerging infectious disease are on the increase.
The MRC as a statutory body is obligated, more than any other organisation, to pay special attention to these conditions and be responsive to research needs. Whilst we applaud and stand proud of our basic science capabilities, clearly the next challenge to our research agenda as demanded by both the diseases of life style and the infectious and communicable conditions, is to find appropriate, sometimes very simple tools, mechanisms, and methods in which to communicate appropriate messages and make effective interventions.
The MRC is also challenged to join the government in achieving ever increasing transformation goals. We would like to see an MRC that is even more than ever before sensitive to the needs of the entire South African population; also an MRC that is itself transformed in its operations, in transparency and its manner of interaction with civil society, and in the way its research programmes are populated. We are looking to an institution that will be seen to be internationally competitive; an institution that will join hands with government, university departments and other stakeholders for achieving common health objectives.
The scientists who are being recognised today, receive my heartfelt congratulations. We are proud to see South African scientists so well received and respected by the international community. As I travel around the world. I often receive these accolades, and I cannot tell you how proud that makes me feel to be a South African, and to be a part of this research and science community.
Since I have taken office in the Ministry of Health I have restated my commitment to the use of research as evidence upon which we base our programming, planning and policy formulation. Ladies and gentlemen it is from you in the universities, the MRC, wherever you are based, that we wait to receive this evidence. I have also re-emphasised my commitment to the issues around gender and how they affect the health and the well-being of South Africans. Let us not fail the people we purport to serve by assuming we know their needs, and we have the answers to their questions, and the solutions to their problems, until these have been confirmed by research findings.
Let me end by saying congratulations to the MRC; it is my firm belief that the partnership that we are building between the MRC and the Health Department must, and will strengthen for the betterment of the health status of our population. Together with universities and other academic institutions, NGO's, the private sector and other stakeholders, I urge that we all go into the new millennium with a strengthened resolve to achieve even more, build a stronger research community and a healthy nation.
As I hand awards to the recipients, let it not just be a symbol of excellence for the work done, but a constant reminder of the work still to be done, and a source of encouragement to all of us to do our best for research for the benefit of all South Africans.