Proud Global partner of UNESCO

Our Partners

Partnerships are at the heart of HIGHER HEALTH’s programme of action. Foremost among these are partnerships with all 26 public universities and 50 TVET colleges which bring our health campaigns, activations and clinical services to fruition on campuses.

Partnerships that anchor our work

HIGHER HEALTH is a venture realised entirely through a complex array of partnerships. Our funding, most of our human resources, and many of the products and services needed to fulfil our mission are contributed by partners who share our vision for the wellbeing of young, bright, ambitious South Africans. Much of our energy and inspiration also derives from these dynamic relationships.

Primary Partnerships

The primary partnerships, upon which the rest depend, are with the institutions comprising the PSET sector: Universities, TVET colleges, and CET colleges and centres. Some of these partnerships were established many years ago, while others have been formed recently.

DHET & NSF

Most critical are our partnerships with the Ministry and Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and with a range of other funding organisations. HIGHER HEALTH receives substantial funding from the DHET and from the National Skills Fund (NSF), including support for our mobile clinics.

This heightens our sense of accountability to the entire PSET sector and to the taxpaying South African public.

The Global Fund

The Global Fund Adolescent and Young People’s (AYP) Programme to Fight HIV, TB and Malaria has maintained a strong focus on youth around the world and HIGHER HEALTH has had the good fortune to receive several consecutive grants from the fund. There is a strong convergence in our approaches to HIV – with an emphasis on the social and structural drivers of this epidemic – and we have benefited from the Fund’s rigorous approach to monitoring and the training it provides for its implementing partners. HIGHER HEALTH is fortunate to have received a new three-year grant from the Global Fund. This allocation includes both male and female students attending TVET colleges in 14 sub-districts of the country. The grant is channelled through three major NGOs: the Networking AIDS Coalition of South Africa (NACOSA), the AIDS Foundation of South Africa (AFSA), and Beyond Zero.

The objectives of the grant are to:
• Reduce new HIV infections among young people.
• Reduce teenage pregnancy and other unwanted pregnancies.
• Reduce GBV.
• Increase the retention of students in PSET.
• Improve economic opportunities for young people.

European Union

The European Union has funded the development of critical policies, guidelines, protocols and implementation and monitoring tools, including a daily COVID-19 screening digital tool used by more than 1 million students and staff, during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to support HIGHER HEALTH with key interventions, capacity development and technical guidance for the PSET in core focus areas including mental health, gender-based violence and substance abuse

Department of Health

Among our most valuable implementing partners are the national Department of Health, provincial departments of health, many health districts, and individual health facilities in communities where PSET institutions are located.

Their collaboration and provision of critical health consumables has been fundamental to the expansion of our services to students..

HWSETA

HWSETA is entrusted with the vital task of overseeing education, training, and skills development within the realms of health, social development, and veterinary sectors. Over the years, HWSETA has forged a fruitful partnership with HIGHER HEALTH. Among the various learning skills programs that HWSETA has been funded for, the following stand out:
  • Civic engagement and Peer Education
  • Gender-based violence, Gender Equality, and Sexual and Gender Diversity 
  • Mental health
  • Disability
  • Communicable diseases and Sexual & Reproductive Health
  • Alcohol and substance abuse

Universities SA

Until September 2017, HEAIDS was managed on behalf of the Department of Higher Education and Training by Universities South Africa (USAf). However, with the inclusion of TVETs, the diversification of funding sources, and the expansion of staff and activities, the establishment of HEAIDS as a standalone non-profit company with a new name, the Higher Education and Training Health, Wellness and Development Centre – HIGHER HEALTH – came into being.

Along with DHET and SAPCO, Universties South Africa (USAf) continues to be a cornerstone for the organisation, providing partnership, oversight, technical guidance, strategic support and close collaborative opportunities, particularly for the university sector.

SAPCO

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SADAG

The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) is the operational force behind our helpline and we are grateful to them for three significant years of collaboration. The ongoing guidance of members of our GBV Technical Task Team has been critical to progress made in this area.

Our Trusted Partners

Empowering Post-School Education and Training (PSET) institutions to deliver health and psychosocial programmes takes place in various ways, including offering technical guidance, building capacity among their staff members and student leadership, and providing resources to facilitate programme implementation.