UCT's Lucie Cluver recognised with OBE for impactful research in child welfare

University of Cape Town (UCT) honorary Professor Lucie Cluver, also a professor at the University of Oxford, has been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours List for her contributions to children’s wellbeing and global public health. 

Cluver, in collaboration with colleagues at UCT and Oxford, has led impactful interdisciplinary research improving the lives of children and adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.

Key initiatives include the UKRI GCRF Accelerating Achievement for Africa's Adolescents Hub and the Global Parenting Initiative.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, she co-led the Covid-19 Emergency Parenting Response, reaching over 210 million people globally.

Driven by a mission to support vulnerable children through science, Cluver's UCT-Oxford partnership has received numerous awards for its impact on policy and practice.

According to UCT, Cluver has co-led groundbreaking interdisciplinary research for over 14 years across UCT and Oxford. 

She has worked closely with Associate Professor Elona Toska, director of  UCT’s Accelerate Research Hub, Professor Cathy Ward, director of UCT’s Safety and Violence Initiative and the Centre for Social Science Research.

“I am honoured and amazed at being given this award. Every impact that we have had is because of an incredible team of PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and colleagues – across South Africa and the UK – who are dedicated to improving the lives of children. Being at the University of Oxford and University of Cape Town gives us an incredible privilege: the academic freedom to pursue research that can directly help the most vulnerable,” said Cluver.  

Between 2019 to 2024, Cluver led the UKRI GCRF Accelerating Achievement for Africa's Adolescents Hub, a £20 million research initiative based at Oxford and co-led with Toska at  UCT. 

“In 2022, in collaboration with Professor Ward, she became co-principal investigator of the Global Parenting Initiative, which provides free, evidence-based support to parents  worldwide to prevent child sexual abuse, exploitation and family violence. The initiative  spans leading universities, foundations and charities, aiming to reach the world’s most  vulnerable families with accessible and effective parenting tools,” UCT said. 

“In 2002, I was a social worker in Nyanga, trying to help mothers and children who were  dying of HIV/AIDS. I asked local charities what they needed, and to my astonishment they  said ‘research’: they wanted to know what would be the most effective and affordable ways to  protect children. Now we work with governments, UN agencies and donors, to answer the  same question, and find solutions for millions of children who deserve the most effective  support,” added Cluver. 

UCT explained that the UCT-Oxford partnership led by Cluver, Toska, Ward and Lachman has been globally recognised for its impact. 

“Awards include the UCT 2019 Social Responsiveness Award, a  2024 national Impact Case recognition by Universities South Africa, the European Research  Council Public Engagement Award (2024), Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences  (2023), Oxford Vice Chancellor’s Innovation Award (2022), the IAS Excellence in Research  with Children Award (2022), and both UKRI (2021) and EU Horizon 2020 Impact Awards,” they said.

Cluver’s career is driven by a clear mission: to use science to support the world’s most  vulnerable children. At UCT, she and her colleagues continue influencing national and  international policies, strengthening families and protecting children's futures worldwide.

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