The School of Public Health at the University of the Witwatersrand established the Health and Population Division in 2002, headed by Professor Stephen Tollman. The Division has both educational and research components. Although the Division is new at WITS, the Division's main research arm - the Agincourt Health and Population Unit (AHPU) has been active in important health, demographic and health systems research since the early 1990's. In 2002, the Agincourt Unit was recognised as a Medical Research Council/ University of the Witwatersrand Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt). This is the first and only recognized unit in Public Health.
One of the great difficulties faced by health workers in Africa is the lack of reliable population-based health and demographic information. The research component of the Division works to provide reliable longitudinal population-based health and demographic information through the Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System (HSDSS). Additionally, there are a number of research projects that draw on the HSDSS (using the HSDSS as a sampling frame, source of demographic data and longitudinal information). These range from biomedical to social science research. The Agincourt HSDSS is a unique programme aimed at collecting reliable health and population data about rural communities in a border region of South Africa, for use in informing policy and health systems development. This website provides information on recent research findings, ongoing research activities, and publications emerging from the Agincourt HDSS.
The Health and Population Division at WITS has important collaborations with other research groups in Southern Africa, as well as internationally. One notable collaboration is with INDEPTH - a network of Health and Demographic Surveillance sites. Professor Stephen Tollman was the founding Chair of the INDEPTH Board. In addition, the Division leads two INDEPTH working groups, those on Adult Health and Migration, and is active in three additional working groups: Health Equity, Mortality, and Life Table Analysis.