Indlela: Behavioural insights for better health

With support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the University of Witwatersrand’s Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office (HE²RO) and the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE) have launched Indlela: Behavioural Insights for Better Health (Indlela means “the way” or “the path” in Zulu). Indlela is the first-of-its-kind unit focused specifically on improving the effectiveness of the public sector in delivering health care and achieving better health outcomes in South Africa. Indlela focuses on building capacity to expand the use of behavioural economics within HIV prevention and treatment programs in South Africa and strengthen the ability of health service delivery providers and key research institutions to develop and test contextually appropriate interventions that are informed by behavioural science principles. In future years, the unit’s scope will expand beyond HIV to include other pressing public health issues in South Africa.