When over 40 faculty, students and staff arrived in Stellenbosch, South Africa in March for the official launch of the SU/NU Global Health Knowledge Hub, the funding of the program was uncertain. Since then, funding has been restored, but only after months of delay.
The hub, which is the new physical location for the decades-long global health collaboration between Northwestern and Stellenbosch University, aims to improve healthcare infrastructure in developing countries, especially HIV and tuberculosis diagnostics.
“With this new initiative of a global health hub, we’re trying to be more intentional with the collaboration,” said Sarah van der Westhuizen, Director of the Centre for Global Engagement at Stellenbosch.
But the hub was launched at a tumultuous moment for research funding. In early March, the Trump administration cut National Institutes of Health funding for subawards, a grant category that includes American institutions, like NU, using funds in foreign countries.
After the initial policy change, NIH abruptly reversed the funding freeze for subawards in July without explanation.
Since it could not draw funding from federal grants, the hub had to use philanthropy funding from the Havey Institute for Global Health, according to Kate Klein, who is the administrative director of the institute.
“Even with all the cuts at NIH and all the other craziness that’s been going on, we’re still committed to doing this,” said McCormick Prof. Matthew R. Glucksberg.
The hub is the product of a longstanding partnership with academics in South Africa, which started with the Global Healthcare Technologies program 20 years ago, according to Glucksberg, who is co-director of the program.
He led the initiative with the goal of creating diagnostics that are more suitable for developing countries. The intention was to develop products that adapt to the conditions in these places, including high heat, dust in the air and limited electricity.
“The devices that are out there are made for rich countries,” Glucksberg said. “There’s a whole list of things that makes the infrastructure that we have, the diagnostics business, and all medical businesses inappropriate in many places in the world.”
Glucksberg said around 20 years ago, early into their work, he and his colleagues realized they needed to physically travel abroad to truly understand the issues facing other countries. This led the team to create a study abroad program. The process of designing and implementing diagnostics in South Africa was more effective when they were in the country, Glucksberg added.
Over the years, South Africa’s medical field has sought to reduce the prevalence of HIV. A 2022 study found that by 2019, only an estimated 0.84% of the population ages 15 to 49 were infected — a 62% decrease since the start of the century. Still, the country has one of the largest HIV epidemics in the world.
As the program has expanded, participants have continued to work on diagnostics, including an improved sputum cup to test for HIV that reduced the rejected samples by about 10%.
Glucksberg said although the people in South Africa were welcoming to NU faculty and students, many residents believed the program would be short-lived.
“A lot of the work that’s done in places like Africa is done by people who come for a couple weeks,” he said. “But if you’re trying to improve healthcare systems the way we’ve been trying to, it’s really critical that you make a commitment.”
Earlier this year, that commitment was cemented with the launch of the Global Health Knowledge Hub, which includes labs used for research by students and faculty.
Now, they are looking to the future. New projects include a study abroad program for climate and health, a co-branded makerspace and the development of NU’s accommodation block in Stellenbosch to facilitate postdocs and young academics.
“Stellenbosch is just one example of such a great, long-term, deep partnership, where we are working together in a way that’s mutually beneficial to address these larger challenges,” Klein said.
Email: [email protected]
Related articles:
— As federal funding freeze persists, Northwestern’s researchers navigate uncertain futures
— Northwestern research to be funded through 2025 amid federal freeze, Bienen promises
