“Asthma affects 1 in 10 children globally and is the most common non-communicable disease (NCD) in children and adolescents.
“Sadly in Africa it is largely neglected, with children suffering severe morbidity from asthma. Lack of access to a diagnosis as well as poor access to quality assured cost-effective medicines are key gaps in asthma care,” said Masekela.
The award will also fund three doctoral candidates in clinical and health economics research and develop a Pan-African respiratory NCD repository.
Masekela wants to create an African asthma observatory to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for asthma in three African countries.
“I will also conduct a study to assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a pragmatic single inhaler-based approach to asthma management in children and adolescents in South Africa.
“My ultimate goal is that all children and adolescents with asthma in Africa should have equitable access to affordable and effective care.
“The prestigious Global Health Research Professorship will provide a steep change in my career, establishing me as a global research leader.
“As the first female black African to receive this award, I am humbled and excited to embark on this journey.
“I am particularly pleased this professorship includes funding for PhDs in both clinical research and health economics, as well as support costs for our wider team. This helps strengthen our research capacity in an area which has historically been under-resourced.”
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UKZN professor bags R45m award to further her research into child asthma
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A R45m award will bring a University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) paediatrics professor a step closer to helping prevent children in Africa dying from asthma through effective and affordable care.
Globally renowned for her work on asthma in children, Prof Refiloe Masekela, head of paediatrics and child health at UKZN, is the recipient of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Research Professorship award.
The NIHR’s flagship career development award, worth more than R45m over five years, will fund research on avoidable morbidity from asthma in African children.
Masekela, a paediatric pulmonologist, is the first researcher based in a low-and middle-income country to receive the award.
Her research aims to improve access to effective and affordable asthma care for children in Africa.
“Asthma affects 1 in 10 children globally and is the most common non-communicable disease (NCD) in children and adolescents.
“Sadly in Africa it is largely neglected, with children suffering severe morbidity from asthma. Lack of access to a diagnosis as well as poor access to quality assured cost-effective medicines are key gaps in asthma care,” said Masekela.
The award will also fund three doctoral candidates in clinical and health economics research and develop a Pan-African respiratory NCD repository.
Masekela wants to create an African asthma observatory to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for asthma in three African countries.
“I will also conduct a study to assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a pragmatic single inhaler-based approach to asthma management in children and adolescents in South Africa.
“My ultimate goal is that all children and adolescents with asthma in Africa should have equitable access to affordable and effective care.
“The prestigious Global Health Research Professorship will provide a steep change in my career, establishing me as a global research leader.
“As the first female black African to receive this award, I am humbled and excited to embark on this journey.
“I am particularly pleased this professorship includes funding for PhDs in both clinical research and health economics, as well as support costs for our wider team. This helps strengthen our research capacity in an area which has historically been under-resourced.”
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