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Editorial

The Lancet, Volume 374, Issue 9683, Page 1, 4 July 2009

Strengthening research capacity in Africa

Original Text

On July 2, an important and positive step was taken towards strengthening research capacity in Africa. As part of its African Institutions Initiative, the Wellcome Trust announced the formation of seven new international consortia, each led by an African institution. By developing research networks and building a critical mass of sustainable research capacity across Africa, local ability to tackle disease and poverty will be improved.

The Wellcome Trust is putting aside £30 million to fund the seven consortia, each of which is directed by an African, and has at least one non-African research or higher education institutional partner. So, for example, the Southern Africa Consortium for Research Excellence (SACORE) is led by Newton Kumwenda from the Malawi College of Medicine, and consists of institutions based in Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, and the UK. Postgraduate training is the main focus of SACORE, which will enable PhD programmes to begin in some of these southern African countries for the first time. The aim is that postgraduate students will spend most of their time in African centres, with only short courses elsewhere, which is hoped will encourage retention. Describing the overall initiative to The Lancet as a “unique and important opportunity that the Wellcome Trust has provided to southern African countries”, Kumwenda emphasised the need to promote independent research and meaningful collaborations.

The Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) consists of institutions in Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, the USA, Australia, Switzerland, and the UK, and is directed by Alex Ezeh of the African Population and Health Research Centre in Kenya. CARTA aims “to train and retain a critical mass of networked African researchers with complementary research skills, able to work in multidisciplinary environments”. Critical thinking skills, analytical techniques, writing and publication planning abilities, and grant management knowledge are all essential to generate top researchers in Africa who can compete on equal terms with those elsewhere.

The Director of Training Health Researchers into Vocational Excellence in East Africa (THRiVE), Nelson Sewankambo from Makerere University in Uganda, describes the need “to nurture partnerships between research institutes and established universities (in the UK and in east Africa) with newly developing ones in communities recovering from distress (northern Uganda and Rwanda) so as to develop sustainable regional research capacity”.

A fourth example is the One Medicine Africa-UK Research Capacity Development Partnership Programme for Infectious Diseases in Southern Africa (SACIDS), which consists of medical, veterinary, and wildlife academic and research institutions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and the UK, and is directed by Mark Rweyemamu, Sokione University of Agriculture, Tanzania. Rweyemamu told The Lancet that the award to SACIDS will: enable new MSc courses in molecular biology and epidemiology; promote biosafety systems and quality management in laboratories; develop a continuing professional development programme; launch a secure internet platform to share resources; enhance distance learning; and provide research apprenticeships for African students to the Royal Veterinary College and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK.

In total, the new consortia represent 52 African institutions in 18 African countries, with research centres in Australia, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA. Awards are given to the consortia for 5 years, then for a further 5 years dependent on review of the effects of each consortia's research capacity strengthening activities.

Developing functional research platforms is essential to improving health in Africa. Nine key requirements to strengthening health-research capacity in Africa were identified by an African-led group—the Initiative to Strengthen Health Research Capacity in Africa (ISHReCA). These nine requirements can be summed up in three areas: improve the research environment, support individuals, and support institutions. The Wellcome Trust's African Institutions Initiative builds on the work of ISHReCA, and on other programmes such as the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership. A structure for improving research capacity in Africa is now in place, which should encourage other funders to invest in sustainable research in the continent.