A donation by an alumnus will go towards exploring “the social determinants of health inequalities”‚ the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) said. “While much of the research on inequality has focused on its link with poverty‚ what has been missing is an understanding of the political forces and social conditions that allow inequality to increase‚" the statement announcing Professor Aubrey Sheiham and his wife Dr Helena Sheiham’s R8.8-million endowment.As well as the initial gift‚ which will support a programme in the Wits School of Public Health‚ “the couple has also pledged to donate more in their wills‚ so that the university’s research is sustained”‚ the statement said.Funds from the Sheiham Family Wits Programme on Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequality “will be used to enhance the skills and capacity of Wits staff to teach‚ research and develop policies” and “support doctoral students in social epidemiology‚ advanced epidemiology and biostatistics”.Professor Laetitia Rispel‚ head of the Wits School of Public Health‚ said “the Sheiham family donation could not have come at a more appropriate time”.“At the end of September 2015‚ a high-level UN meeting ratified the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These SDGs demonstrate the scale and ambition of this new universal agenda to eradicate poverty and to reduce the unacceptable health inequalities that continue to exist within and among countries‚” said Rispel/“The donation will complement recent large grants obtained by the School of Public Health to build advanced biostatistics capacity in South Africa and the Africa region‚ and to commence the first post-graduate degree in implementation science in sub-Saharan Africa.” ..