OVERVIEW

FPD has been active in the field of violence and injury prevention.

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

Violence and injury remain critical public health concerns in South Africa, reflecting deep-seated societal issues that span economic, social, and historical contexts.

Progress against SDGs

Recent studies show progress in South Africa's efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to injury mortality. From 2009 to 2017, the overall injury mortality rate decreased significantly from 109 to 95 per 100,000 people, largely due to a 31% reduction in road traffic mortality rates across all age groups. This aligns with SDG Target 3.6 on road safety, as validated by data from the Road Traffic Management Corporation. However, advancements in reducing violence and suicide are less promising. Recent data shows a significant rise in the national homicide rate to 45 per 100,000, primarily in the Eastern and Western Cape, Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. South Africa, with a suicide rate of 23.5 per 100 000 people, ranks third worst on the continent and Africa has the highest global suicide rate. Limited access to mental health services exacerbates the issue.

Policy Environment

South Africa's policy environment reflects a growing focus on addressing violence and injury through various strategic initiatives. The 2012 National Development Plan advocated for building safer communities by addressing root causes such as poverty, inequality, and unemployment. Meanwhile, the 2020 National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide outlines a comprehensive approach involving multiple government departments to tackle the crisis nationally. However, gaps remain, particularly in integrating urban planning and environmental design to reduce violence, and the lack of a unified national strategy leads to duplicated efforts and resource inefficiencies. A more centralized strategy, aligning with international guidelines and focusing on comprehensive preventive measures, is essential for significant progress in violence and injury prevention in South Africa.

SOLUTION

The current priorities for reducing violence and injury in South Africa include:

Developing and implementing a coordinated national strategy to streamline efforts and optimize resource use.
Addressing the root causes of violence such as poverty, inequality, and unemployment, as emphasized in the National Development Plan.
Enhancing urban planning and environmental design to foster safer communities with improved lighting and communal spaces.
Improving data collection and monitoring to gather accurate information on injury and violence for targeted interventions.
Advancing alcohol harm reduction through stringent policy measures like stricter licensing and reduced marketing.
Accelerating the new national mental health policy framework (2023-2030), focusing on mental health and substance abuse in violence prevention.
Strengthening the execution of the Gender-Based Violence National Strategic Plan by bolstering policy enforcement and addressing socio-economic and cultural factors.
Developing community-engaged youth violence prevention strategies that focus on education and social programs.
Institutionalizing evidence-based interventions that promote safe and nurturing relationships and gender equality.
Expanding multisectoral collaboration to include a wider range of stakeholders from public health, criminal justice, and the private sector in prevention efforts

The FPD technical approach is delivered through a series of targeted workstreams [WS] and uses South Africa as springboard to test innovative approaches that can be replicated and expanded across the continent and serve as models to support international efforts.
WS-1 Technical Assistance: FPDs focus has historically been on GBV but is increasingly shifting towards focussing on creating an environment to support development of a coordinated national strategy from a public health perspective. FPD through its work in mental health provided technical assistance in support of the new national mental health policy and is actively working on increasing access to mental health services. https://www.foundation.co.za/mental-health
WS-2 Training and capacity development: FPD, as a registered private higher education institution based in South Africa with a global reach, offer a wide range of accredited courses (online, virtual, and in-person formats) customized to the requirements of all role players. Capacity development programmes cover the spectrum of developing competency from policy and planning, increasing the MH workforce, strengthening the role of civil society.
WS-3: Creating structures to foster cross sectoral collaboration: FPD leverages more than 25 years of HIV/TB system strengthening and community engagement experience, which included leveraging international conferences and local conferences to build broad coalitions in support of advancing public health goals. The 2000 International AIDS Conference, we hosted in Durban was a historical event in uniting the global community in making AIDS treatment affordable and overcoming AIDS denialism. In 2026 we will be hosting the International Conference on Safety and Injury Prevention with the aim of using this event to catalyse a similar multisectoral response to violence and injury prevention.

RESULTS

WS -1: Technical Assistance
The Increasing Services for Survivors of Sexual Assault in South Africa (ISSSASA) 2012 -2018 Project funded by USAID, PEPFAR and MACAIDS is a collaboration of leading South African organisations – Foundation for Professional Development, The Soul City Institute, Sonke Gender Justice Network and the South African Medical Research Council. The objective of this project is to improve service provision and community awareness of services for survivors of sexual assault in South Africa, which struggles with one of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world. The PEPFAR funding through CDC of the IMHSI project FPD was able to initiate what is the 1st large donor funded national system strengthening project in MH which in improving access to people living with HIV/TB and at risk and vulnerable individuals also supports the general access to mental health services and wellbeing programmes. Technical assistance helped shape the new national mental health policy framework (2021 -2026)

WS -2: Training and capacity development
The FPD have hosted a multitude of GBV training programs namely, Clinical Forensic Medical Aspects of gender Based violence, Gender Based Violence for Lay Counsellors, Gender Based Violence in community health setting, Gender Based violence in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic for Doctors, Gender based violence in the context of the COVID-19 Pandemic for health care providers, integrated management of sexual and Gender based violence and various more. These programs were made with the intent of addressing an issue that has plagued and ravaged through south African homes. GBV was and still is a quandary that the FPD has devoted itself in playing its part in fixing through educating and capacity building. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened South Africa's GBV crisis, with lockdowns trapping victims with abusers and limiting access to support services. Economic strain and social isolation heightened abuse, while disruptions to vital services left survivors vulnerable. This surge emphasized the urgent need for adaptable interventions in crisis settings. In response to this FPD developed with sponsorship of ABSA a series on microlearning in Powtoon format for the public Link to here https://youtu.be/kY1ty5g9zus?list=PLDQ2tkoImRRv5ZPorG17bEvFJIdSQnn3I A major focus of our training capacity development is on improving access to mental health where until recently 90% of South African did not have ready access to care (SADAG 2020) through the developing of new cadre of lay counsellors who can be rapidly produced and provide evidenced based counselling for common mental health conditions. The IPC Project is developing interpersonal counselling (IPC) counsellors. These lay counsellors have been trained to provide international evidence based short intervention counselling. This project isn't just an attempt to rapidly address the treatment gap but also creates meaning full jobs for school leavers and unemployed people who do not have formal post matric qualifications.

WS -3 Creating structures to foster cross sectoral collaboration
FPD supported the establishment of the International Society for Injury and Violence Prevention in 2008 FPDs Conference Department was the conference organizer for UNISA when the hosted the 2006 International Conference on Violence and Injury prevention in South Africa and subsequently organized the bi-annual SA National Conference on Violence from 2016 which unfortunately was a casualty of the Coronavirus pandemic. Although none of these events really had the catalytic effect that was hoped for, we now believe that with the new Government of National Unity the timing is right for using the 2026 International Conference as such a catalytic event.