Wits University has secured a R7m grant from the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust to protect health sciences research capacity threatened by US funding cuts. The two-year grant will support researchers, staff, and students in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Their work has been placed at risk following the sudden withdrawal or reduction of international funding.
The funding is designed to plug urgent gaps. It will help cover salaries and key operational costs. This will allow research teams to stay intact and projects to continue. Wits leaders framed the grant as both a stabiliser and a strategic intervention. It aims to prevent longer-term damage to South Africa’s health research pipeline.
Prof Lynn Morris, deputy vice-chancellor for research and innovation at Wits, said the timing is critical for the university and for the broader health research sector. She warned that US funding withdrawals have had a “profound impact” on health research in South Africa. Morris said the Oppenheimer support would help retain critical skills and support emerging researchers. In addition, it would preserve continuity in work that directly affects community health outcomes.
Wits Health Research Funding Supports the Next Generation
Morris highlighted a group most exposed to funding shocks: postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers. These researchers often rely on short-term project funding and are less likely to have institutional buffers. When grants are cut, they can lose stipends, supervisory structures, lab access, and momentum in fieldwork. That can derail careers and weaken the national talent pool.
She described the intervention as an investment in the future health sciences workforce. The message to policymakers and funders is clear. Funding disruption not only slows publications. It risks losing a generation of specialised skills in public health, clinical research, and laboratory science.
Prof Aletta Millen, assistant dean for research in the faculty of health sciences, said the grant would make a tangible difference amid uncertainty. She said it would protect livelihoods, sustain training, and keep essential research on track. Millen emphasised that the people behind research output are at the core of the faculty. Keeping them supported is central to maintaining capability.
Oppenheimer Trust Steps in as Universities Face Global Volatility
The grant follows earlier warnings from Wits about the scale of the problem. The university previously said the loss of US funding placed vital projects and skilled researchers at risk. Wits council intervened with R22m. However, the institution acknowledged that this support still fell far short of need. The new R7m grant adds capacity and signals confidence from a major philanthropic funder. It shows faith in the value of the work under threat.
Tracy Webster, CEO of the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, said the trust recognises the urgency. She described health research as a public good. Funding losses, she said, not only endanger individuals. They weaken the broader research ecosystem that supports training, innovation, and evidence for policy and service delivery.
Wits said the funding will be used to address the most urgent needs within the faculty, covering operational and programme costs. Morris added that partnerships like this are increasingly important as universities navigate a volatile global funding environment. They seek to protect research excellence.
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