A short general history of the MRC

"A national asset" - SETI Review
In November 1997 the MRC was reviewed by an international panel as part of the national review of the country's science and technology system commissioned by the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (DACST). This was the so-called SETI Review, which reported that during the previous three years the MRC had undergone significant transformation "in line with the national objectives of the new South Africa". The review panel stressed the importance of the MRC remaining an autonomous body "directly accountable to the people of South Africa through the Department of Health". It also recommended a substantial increase in the MRC's budget and the placing of further emphasis on priority-driven research. The need for increased funding and emphasis with regard to capacity development was also stressed, and the finding of the panel was that "The Medical Research Council is a national asset, which is being successfully transformed to discharge its responsibilities and functions".

At the end of 1998 Dr Walter Prozesky retired as President, a position he had held for six years, although his association with the MRC was one of 30 years, having commenced with postgraduate studies in an MRC unit. A farewell function was held to honour Dr Prozesky, at which the then Minister of Health, Dr Nkosazana Zuma, herself a former MRC research scientist, spoke of her respect for Dr Prozesky as a scientist, as President of the MRC, and as a true South African patriot who had worked tirelessly and with commitment for the new South Africa.

Dr Prozesky's successor as President, selected after a lengthy and wide-ranging procedure, was Dr Malegapuru William Makgoba, who had resigned as Chairperson of the Board in May 1998 to make himself available for the new appointment. The new Chairperson, Professor Marian Jacobs, paid tribute in her first annual report (March 1999) to both Dr Prozesky and Dr Makgoba.

Prof. Jacobs set out the revised strategic plan, based in part on the findings of the SETI review, stressing areas for action as:

• strengthening relationships with health planners and policy makers;
• developing detailed plans for periodic, rigorous evaluation of programmes and projects;
• developing a new corporate identity;
• keeping pace with the Department of Health's implementation of Essential National Health
  Research Plans;
• aiming for a budget to realise strategic intentions;
• expanding capacity development efforts;
• achieving a balance between intramural and extramural research and promoting
  transdisciplinary research; and,
• focusing on a human rights ethos.

Prof. Jacobs concluded her report: "With the year 2000 only months away, we are mindful of the long road still to be travelled before the nation comes anywhere close to achieving health for all its people. The MRC has an important role to play in striving for the goal of good health, and has defined its role clearly in the context of a respect for human rights, a concern for sustainable science development, and a commitment to the nation's health".

In an interview, Prof. Jacobs mentioned other matters for concern. These included the countrywide under-employment of black women, a situation that is being addressed by the MRC. In earlier years, the range of research was more or less confined to conditions that mostly affected whites - such as coronary heart disease. The MRC, however, has made the global shift from concerning itself just with medical research to concern with national health research. To a large extent, research reflected the policies of the day. There was less contact with the mass of the people in former times, but now the MRC sees itself as an agent of the health sector of the country rather than merely as an offshoot of the Department of Health.

The 30th year of the MRC's existence, on the brink of the new millennium, brought publication of Dr Makgoba's first Presidential report, in which he enumerated some of the council's achievements. He also set out the goals to which the corporate strategy of the MRC is directed. These include the entrenchment of the culture of human rights; transdisciplinary research and knowledge management to create health innovations; the attainment of international status and credibility as a learning organisation; and developing the capacity to address current and future health challenges while maintaining sustainability and growth. These are to be attained through a process of strategic realignment requiring a marked shift of emphasis in attitude and understanding.

Dr Makgoba dealt forthrightly with the MRC's mission to promote equity and development in its employment policy. Over four years the race profile of employees has changed from 41% black and 59% white to 55% black and 45% white, and the gender profile was currently (March 1999) 33% male and 67% female. Capacity development aims to redress historic imbalance in health research development, the primary focus being to develop researchers where there is little or no capacity, and to train more black researchers. In 1998 there were 1253 applications for 43 vacancies: 59% of the applications were from blacks. The total number of employees is between 400 and 450.

The MRC is a national organisation with offices in Cape Town, Pretoria and Durban and a rural centre at Hlabisa in KwaZulu-Natal. It supports a core of 250 scientists plus 100 technologists operating through 22 units (based at universities, including a quarter at historically disadvantaged institutions), research centres and 15 research programmes which are led by internationally recognised scientists and function as centres of excellence. A total of 500 research projects are undertaken with approximately 100 new projects submitted every year; producing 500 publications, policy briefs and reports annually. The MRC also supports 300 scientists engaged in 300 three-year short-term research projects (self-initiated research), which constitutes a substantial investment in the building of research capacity and the development of science in the region.

Currently, the top research priorities are HIV/AIDS, ethics, tuberculosis, malaria, telemedicine, biotechnology, human genomics, women's health, and a public-health research approach to infectious diseases and crime,violence and injury.