DEPARTMENTS
ADMINISTRATION
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND DISEASE CONTROL
HOSPITAL EQUIPMENT AND MAINTANANCE
Blair Research Institute
Table of Contents
1. Institutional Status
2. Objectives
3. Management Structure
4. Institute Council
5. Manpower
6. Further Information
Institutional Status
The Blair Research Institute is the national centre for research, training and service in the fields of disease control, biomedicine and health. The Institute comprises the Blair Research Laboratory (established 1939), Health Research Unit (established 1981) in Harare and the De Beers Research Laboratory (established 1965) in Chiredzi. These units form the Research Department of the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MOHCW). The Institute is administered by a Director who is appointed by the Public Service Commission and is answerable to the Secretary for Health and Child Welfare.
The director serves as Secretary to the Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe (MRCZ), a statutory body established by Act of Parliament in 1974 in terms of the Research Act of 1959 Chapter 336, Subsection 18 to promote and co-ordinate all aspects of health and medical research in Zimbabwe. The Blair Research Institute is an affiliated institution of the University of Zimbabwe and is also a World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Schistosomiasis Research and Control.
Objectives of the Institute
The activities of the Institute are embodied in an Act of Parliament of 1968 for the Blair Research Trust Fund Constitution Section 30 (4) of the Audit and Exchequer Act (Chapter 168) and amended in 1988 to read as follows:
"This Trust Fund is established for the purpose of administering funds donated for the purpose of research into safe water and sanitation provision, endemic communicable diseases such as malaria, schistosomiasis, diarrhoea and other related diseases."
The overall objective of the institute is to carry out research in priority areas which in addition to the above named areas includes AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and health systems research. The aim of this research is to improve the health of the people of Zimbabwe through more effective control of the diseases and solving problems associated with the implementation of health programmes.
Management Structure
The director is responsible for ensuring that the overall strategy of research at the Institute supports government health policy and research priorities. Particularly important is the appropriateness of the defined areas of essential national health research undertaken in addressing health problems of the health sector.
The Director is assisted by a Deputy Director, a Chief Research Officer and a Chief Technician. This management team comprise the Executive Management Committee (EMC) which provides scientific, technical and managerial support to section/unit heads of the Institute. The Executive Management Committee outlines the broad strategy to be followed in each area and approves all annual plans of section heads that they review on a quarterly basis. The senior management team also provides a link between research, policy and action through representation in the policy planning committees of the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare and other agencies. The EMC focuses on optimum support of research and technical activities by mobilisation of external technical and financial resources to augment government funds.
The Chief Research Officer and Chief Technician are responsible for research and development of the different research and technical programmes i.e Vector Borne Diseases, Communicable and Infectious Diseases, Health Systems and Technology Research, and Technical Services.
Each research section or unit is headed by a section head (normally a Principal Medical Research Officer) who is the overall manager and promotes a participatory management culture within the section. A research section comprises three or four research groups under a senior scientist who provides research leadership. She also facilitates collaboration and networking by principal investigators or team leaders of projects within the thrust area.
The Section Head of Technical Support Services is responsible for technical aspects. These include provision and maintenance of equipment, laboratories and experimental animals, procurement of perishables for the laboratories. He is also responsible for technical personnel as well as maintenance and security of laboratory buildings, grounds, technical training and service activities. He is assisted by thrust leaders or more senior technicians.
A technician may be appointed to be responsible for a laboratory unit. Such a technician is commonly known as a technician in charge (TIC). Currently Blair has the following laboratories:
- Parasitology
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Cell Culture
- Experimental Animals
- Health Technology
- Training and Services
An administrator provides oversight over a modest administrative and finance secretariat which supports the activities of the institute through accounting and book-keeping, secretarial, transport, personnel and clerical duties.Institute Council
All research staff and representatives from the technical, administrative and field personnel meet monthly in the Institute Council, which advises the Executive Management Committee on all matters pertaining to the activities of the institute. The Institute Council has specialised committees responsible for research and development, tender, training and staff development, transport and supplies, buildings and security, publications, publicity and computers and social affairs.Manpower
To meet the changing needs of the health sector and to promote a need-driven research orientation, the Institute has strengthened research and technical capacity in the following disciplines:
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With such a broad, multidisciplinary research and technical base the Institute is more effective in intersectional research and in fostering collaborative links with various organisations for the benefits of country-specific research and health development.
| Director - Blair Research Institute email: Dr S. K. Chandiwana Tel.: +263-4-703919; 792747-9; 700457-9 Fax: +263-4-792480 |
Deputy Director |
| Chief Medical Research Officer email: Dr P. Ndhlovu Tel.: +263-4-703919; 792747-9; 700457-9 Fax: +263-4-792480 |
Blair Research Institute |