The Chronic Disease Initiative for Africa (CDIA) is a network of multidisciplinary researchers and policymakers drawn from multiple tertiary academic institutions in South Africa (Universities of Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, Witwatersrand, Pretoria, North West), South African Medical Research Council, and Africa (Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique; University of Botswana; Malawi Epidemiology Research Unit) and Unit representatives from the South African Provincial and National Department of Health.
The Centre serves as a regional hub for developing and evaluating models of chronic disease care and prevention. Since the launch in November 2009, the CDIA network has expanded to include members from Malawi, Kenya and Botswana and from the University of Pretoria and University of Witwatersrand in South Africa.
CDIA is currently involved in the postgraduate training of seven local and eight international students, registered at five national and international universities, and is unique in Africa in that it strives to connect scientists in an expanding collaborative network to optimise the contribution of the limited number of chronic disease researchers in the region.
