Government allocates more for research on health threats

The Department of Science and Innovation Director-General, Phil Mjwara, says government through the department is to make a further R25 million to the Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA) to continue with health threats researches.

NGS-SA is a network established to rapidly respond to public health threats in South Africa.

Mjwara said government has coordinated a package of responses across the National System of Innovation (NSI) to address South Africa’s readiness for the impact of Covid-19.

Addressing a webinar on the role of the scientific research in mitigating the Covid-19 pandemic organised jointly by Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) and the National Press Club, Mjwara said the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Biosciences Lab has conducted 16 986 SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests for eight different entities to date.

He said 2800 SARS-CoV-2 whole genomes from South Africa have been produced to date.

“Future studies underway to gather data on whether there is any clinical and epidemiological evidence to suggest impact. This highlights the importance of investing in Research and Development (R&D) capability development in dealing with future crises and opportunities. There are ongoing R&D activities which include developing relevant capabilities in order to fully support the state,” Mjwara said.

Mjwara said the CSIR and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) continue to explore the possibility of localising vaccine technology from the Kentucky Bioprocessing (KBP).

“There is consideration being given to conducting some phases of clinical development in South Africa as part of the potential technology transfer approach, adjusting technology for new variants. This approach is necessary given the strain variation that could impact the efficacy of some of the current vaccines,” Mjwara said.