Desmond Tutu TB Centre

Preparing the next generation of industry experts

The Desmond Tutu Tuberculosis Centre (DTTC) is an academic research centre located in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Cape Town, South Africa, established in 2003. In 2004, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who suffered from tuberculosis as a child, became its patron and the centre was formally named.

The goals of the centre are designed on a strategy built on basic and applied research, as well as on the training of students and communities in all aspects of tuberculosis (TB). The Centre operates from the premise that grassroots research must never be underestimated; including working with communities and investigations into the everyday challenges of people infected and affected by TB and HIV. Our endeavours are proof that successful treatments in clinics, health centres and even in people’s homes, are not detached from research, but are in fact interdependent on each other. Central to the DTTC’s work is the dissemination of information back to the research communities in addition to other appropriate stakeholders, including health services. 

The majority of the Centre’s support is from research grant funding, obtained through international and national grant funding agencies.

Contact details
Phone: +27 21 938 9812 
Phone: +27 21 938 9719 

Physical address
Desmond Tutu TB Centre
Francie van Zijl Avenue, Clinical Building, K Floor,
Tygerberg Campus, Cape Town, South Africa

Where do we work?

The administrative offices of the Desmond Tutu TB Centre (DTTC) are housed in the Clinical Building on the campus of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS). Numerous field offices are located in communities and townships in the Cape Town Metropolitan area and other districts of the Western Cape. These field offices were erected by Stellenbosch University in collaboration with the relevant Departments/Directorates of Health of the districts. In addition, the DTTC has sites in other provinces of South Africa. Through work in the communities, the DTTC assists Stellenbosch University to “leave its scientific footprint in communities”.

Research Focus Areas

  • Our research focus areas include:
  • Paediatric Tuberculosis
  • Health Systems
  • HIV Prevention
  • Clinical Trials Unit