Tamar Kahn: Business Day, 24 October 2006

THE Medical Research Council (MRC) expects to increase its contract research income 36% this year, rising to R300m from R220m in the financial year ending March 2006, president Anthony Mbewu said at the recent launch of the council’s annual report. The emphasis on external funding is in line with trends at other statutory research councils, which have reduced their reliance on grants from government. The MRC received R184m from government during the period under review, about a fifth of the state's funding for health-related research. Highlighting the MRC's successes in the fight against malaria, Mbewu said that research made no difference to health unless it was translated into policy, practice, promotion and products. The MRC helped develop antimalaria techniques used in the Lubombo Spatial Development project between SA, Swaziland and Mozambique, including the use of low concentrations of DDT to kill malaria-bearing mosquitoes. The project has seen malaria decline rapidly in the region, and helped persuade the World Health Organisation (WHO) to reverse its ban on DDT. The WHO changed its policy guidelines on malaria prevention in September, saying indoor spraying of DDT could be added to prevention techniques such as insecticide-coated bed nets. Mbewu said that this showed the power of research to test practice and inform policy. The MRC was deeply involved in SA's attempts to combat the recent emergence of extremely drug resistant TB, he said. MRC scientists were also developing quicker TB tests, which now take several weeks. The HIV/AIDS epidemic was SA's most pressing public health threat, and remained a focus of the MRC's work, he said. About half the council's research budget, and a third of its staff, were dedicated to HIV-related projects.