Overview
The Regional Malaria Modelling Translational (RMMT) Fellowship is a six-month executive programme designed to strengthen the use of modelling in malaria decision-making. Delivered from May to October 2025, the inaugural Fellowship brought together 21 fellows from seven countries—Angola, Eswatini, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zambia—nominated by their National Malaria Programmes (NMPs). The Fellowship addresses a critical gap between modelling evidence and its use in policy and programme decision-making. It builds the capacity of policymakers, programme leaders, and technical staff to interpret model-based insights as a practical decision-support tool in resource-constrained settings.
Approach
The Fellowship combined in-person and virtual learning across key areas, with three immersive, full-time in-person blocks held in May, August, and October 2025. The curriculum topics spanned the full modelling process—from framing policy-relevant questions and understanding systems, through model design, development, and critique, to interpreting outputs and communicating findings—while also addressing cross-cutting themes such as uncertainty, health economics, and stakeholder engagement. A central component was the Capstone Project, where fellows worked in country teams to develop proposals for modelling analyses to address priority policy questions. During the final week, fellows presented their Capstone Projects to senior representatives from their Ministries of Health and NMPs, strengthening country ownership and supporting pathways to uptake.
Impact
The RMMT Fellowship demonstrated strong early impact, including increased confidence in interpreting modelling outputs, strengthened collaboration between technical and policy stakeholders, and a pipeline of country-led modelling projects aligned with programme priorities. Fellows also reported substantial gains in their ability to apply model-based insights in decision-making processes, define policy-relevant questions, and translate findings into actionable recommendations. The inaugural implementation of the RMMT Fellowship has demonstrated its ability to strengthen capacity to bridge the gap between modelling and policy, supporting more informed, data-driven decision-making in malaria programmes. It also provides a framework that can be readily transferred to other areas of disease modelling for public health.
Team
The programme was implemented by the Modelling and Simulation Hub, Africa (MASHA) at the University of Cape Town, in partnership with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Malaria Elimination 8 Initiative (E8) and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) South Africa Office, and funded by the Gates Foundation (GF). The Fellowship is co-directed and facilitated by Prof Sheetal Silal and Dr Rachel Hounsell from MASHA UCT and Sadiq Wanjala from CHAI South Africa Office.
