About HE²RO

The Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office (HE²RO) is a division of the Wits Health Consortium of the University of the Witwatersrand. Its purpose is to conduct applied, policy- and program-relevant research and evaluation on issues of public health importance in South Africa. HE²RO was established in 2004 as a collaboration between WHC and the Center for Global Health and Development at Boston University in the United States. It focuses on understanding the economic and epidemiological consequences of the HIV and TB epidemics and the effectiveness, benefits, and costs of interventions. It responds directly to requests for information and technical assistance from the National Department of Health, National Health Laboratory Service, provincial departments of health, PEPFAR partners, and healthcare providers, answering questions of immediate practical relevance to these stakeholders.

The HE²RO team of approximately sixty Johannesburg-based senior and junior researchers and staff includes expertise in health economics, epidemiology, study design, data management, and quantitative and qualitative research methods. They work closely with senior investigators from Boston University and colleagues from the Clinical HIV Research Unit and Right to Care.

HE²RO collaborates with a number of other South African and international organizations. 

• Clinical HIV Research Unit
• Right to Care
• Boston University Center for Global Health and Development
• National Health Laboratory Service
• National Department of Health
• IeDEA