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Prof W de Villiers

I wish to recognise the dedication of members of the HIGHER HEALTH Board who continue to provide guidance and counsel, and the outstanding leadership of Prof Ahluwalia and his very solid team across the country. We hope to continue exploring the intersection between education and wellness – and their joint

Prof W de Villiers

Chairperson's Message

The period covered by this report was extraordinarily successful for HIGHER HEALTH, both in terms of campus programme delivery and the consolidation of the organisation.

The post-school education and training (PSET) sector only shook off the shadow of COVID-19 completely in 2022 and returned to full operation. This normalisation created conditions for HIGHER HEALTH to display its growing capacity for enabling campus-based health interventions. Readers will see evidence of this in the scale of delivery documented in this report and the level of student participation. In many instances, programme output not only equalled but exceeded that which was achieved in the pre-COVID period.

By the end of the reporting period, HIGHER HEALTH was on the brink of realising its vision of introducing an accredited curriculum that centres on health, wellness and the development of active citizenship. Through a partnership with the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA) and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO), HIGHER HEALTH has created a six-module certificate curriculum with NQF Level 5 accreditation. This is based on the Second Curriculum (now referred to the Co-Curriculum) introduced module by module over approximately five years as part of the HIGHER HEALTH model and the organisation’s nurturing of active learning through peer education and student volunteerism.

All societies have a need to build civic activism and South Africa – which is still grappling with the bitter legacy of apartheid – has a greater need than most. There were many possible paths to incorporating this type of education in university and college life and it is to HIGHER HEALTH’s great credit that it was first to seize the initiative.

The organisation is supported financially by local and international funding partners in the health and higher education and training sectors and has been able to grow and diversify its funding base as its vision has expanded. Our Chief Executive Officer, Prof Ramneek Ahluwalia, has a keen understanding of the organisational environment, appreciates which organisations have common interests with HIGHER HEALTH, and recognises mutually satisfying partnerships can be forged. The organisation’s financial sustainability owes much to this leadership.

HIGHER HEALTH’s funding for the year and funding commitments totalled some R142 million, an amount that demands strong financial management capability and close oversight. Adjustments to our financial management systems are made from time to time to keep pace with budgetary growth. I am pleased to say that we received a clean audit opinion for the 2022/23 financial year.

In 2022, we marked the fifth anniversary of HIGHER HEALTH’s incorporation as a not-for-profit company and reviewed the strategy which had served us well for the first five years. The new strategy involves fine-tuning rather than a radical change. It completes the journey away from an HIV-focused organisation to a broad health promotion and developmental entity. It more fully reflects the uniqueness of the PSET sector and it specifies the organisation’s mandate within this sector more closely.

During the year, the organisation experienced a fair degree of change in the composition of the board and in the ranks of senior management. While this inevitably presented some challenges, HIGHER HEALTH was able to manage the transitions effectively and without disruption to our partners at campus level.

All in all, the performance recorded in this report is a tribute to collaboration. We are indebted to the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, and Deputy Minister Buti Manamela for their unflagging support and keen appreciation of the value that HIGHER HEALTH brings to the sector.

Our ability to deliver is also testimony to the commitment of our partners – funders, the management, students and staff of universities and colleges, the Departments of Health and Higher Education and Training, provincial and district health services, other public entities, technical experts, training authorities, and a range of non- governmental organisations.

I wish to recognise the dedication of members of the HIGHER HEALTH Board who continue to provide guidance and counsel, and the outstanding leadership of Prof Ahluwalia and his very solid team across the country. We hope to continue exploring the intersection between education and wellness – and their joint