Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is one of the tools that supports the policy formulation process. Using multidisciplinary analyses, it examines the health, economic, social and ethical implications of the use of new (and existing) ‘technologies,’ broadly defined as any interventions to improve health. These analyses inform the development of clinical protocols, the composition of benefit packages and reimbursement mechanisms for health care providers, for example. The clinical and economic assessment of interventions is the particular concern of HTA, given that resources are insufficient to cope with the existing burden of disease. Economic analyses are therefore the core activity of HTA. However, to have policy impact, the findings of these evaluations need to be inserted into government’s priority-setting processes, where they are weighed against numerous other concerns. Participation in certain stages of these processes is also a function of HTA practitioners.

The main outcomes of the review are that research organisations working in the field of HTA have to do so much more than conduct high quality research: they also have to engage with a complex array of stakeholders, network closely with a number of other research organisations, build partnerships with different levels of government and train the future generation of HTA researchers and policy-makers. In low- and middle-income countries where there are no government HTA agencies, they also have to support the development of an effective HTA-informed priority-setting process that is sensitive to societal and government needs and priorities. International experience advises that, in embarking on this complex process, it is important to start small, building on existing capacity and opportunities through the development of sound partnerships. There are clearly many possible dimensions to a capacity-building strategy for HTA in South Africa and the region: the key will be to select appropriate starting points that build on research partners’ strengths, meet some of the immediate needs of the country governments and contribute to longer-term goals.