NAIROBI, Kenya, May 11, 2023 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- The Science Foundation for Africa (SFA Foundation) has launched the second phase of a multi-million dollar project to scale up world-class research and African scientific leadership on the continent, while strengthening African institutions. The second phase of the DELTAS Africa project (Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training, and Science in Africa) is endowed with 70 million dollars thanks to the joint financial support of Wellcome and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom. DELTAS Africa II funds 14 research consortia in nine African countries, with partnerships and networks around the world, to produce quality scientific data and information for evidence-based decision-making, generated by scientific leaders of world class working in conducive and supportive environments. It also promotes the development of a critical mass of globally competitive researchers.
African governments have invested in the fundamentals of research and development (R&D), such as higher education systems and infrastructure. However, African nations contribute 1.3% of global R&D with average national budgets of 0.4% of their gross domestic product (GDP), compared to a global average of 1.4% to 1.7% [Rapport de l’UNESCO sur la science à l’horizon 2030]. Consequently, the continent’s research capacity lags behind the rest of the world. This capacity is essential to address the ongoing health challenges that disproportionately affect the continent, which has a global disease burden of 25%. [Organisation mondiale de la santé].
“The DELTAS Africa program paves the way for new scientific leaders to tackle Africa’s most pressing public health challenges and generate data and evidence that informs Africa’s policy and development agenda. says Dr. Alphonsus Neba, Deputy Director of Programs and DELTAS Africa Program Manager, SFA Foundation. “During the first phase, we have already seen the impact that funding science can have. These scientists have contributed to the development of global health measures, improved research infrastructures and enriched scientific knowledge through peer-reviewed publications and health innovations. The funding has helped build a critical mass of globally competitive researchers who are now internationally recognized”
DELTAS Africa II, (2023 to 2026), supports 14 projects in 75 institutions, across 36 countries, with the participation of institutions from North Africa and Portuguese-speaking countries that were not previously covered. The consortia, led by world-renowned African researchers, recognize the interconnectedness of climate change, food security and health, and the need to balance research excellence and equity. DELTAS Africa II emphasizes intra-African collaboration, engagement and partnership between relatively well-resourced and less well-resourced institutions. Consortia led by Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia and Zimbabwe are advancing evidence and knowledge on key priorities for R&D, including discovery, translation, implementation and operational science for infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV and tuberculosis; neglected tropical diseases; non-communicable diseases; and social sciences and humanities. Leaders will be supported for their contribution to science research, policy and practice and to stimulating scientific innovation and entrepreneurship on the continent.
“During this second phase, we aim for a program that is truly pan-African, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary. Together, we bring a wide range of skills to address the challenges facing our continent and to ensure that researchers and institutions are not left behind in efforts to fill critical gaps in the science ecosystem. All this to ensure healthy and productive nations to accelerate economic growth,” said Dr. Tom Kariuki, Executive Director of the SFA Foundation.
DELTAS Africa II follows an initial five-year project launched and funded by Wellcome and FCDO in 2015, with Phase I of the program being implemented by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and Africa Development Agency. African Union (AUDA-NEPAD). The success of DELTAS Africa I (2015-2022) included advising the World Health Organization on the development of a rabies elimination protocol and creating an affordable HIV treatment resistance test in Botswana. DELTAS Africa I has also advanced the economic agenda by producing high value-added jobs, as evidenced for example by the 2,011 undergraduate, masters, doctoral, postdoctoral and high-level researchers trained, 50% of whom were women. The first phase of the program further enabled the consortia to improve Africa’s scientific quality and productivity by collectively producing 1,496 peer-reviewed papers, successfully competing for additional grants worth of $267 million and winning 339 scientific excellence awards worth $9.1 million.
DELTAS Africa II, which is now implemented by the SFA Foundation, continues to invest in and increase Africa’s research capacity by increasing the number of scientific leaders producing quality scientific data and information for evidence-based decision-making, while strengthening the African R&D ecosystem.
“Wellcome is committed to funding ambitious and creative research in Africa that tackles some of the most pressing health challenges facing our world. We are very pleased to be working with the SFA Foundation and its partners to support high quality, top-notch research across Africa, developing the growing research and development sector on the continent.”said Cheryl Moore, head of research programs at Wellcome.
“In addition to research funding, support from Wellcome and the UK government is focused on developing global standards for grant due diligence, research management, open access to science and public participation. looking. These elements are an essential part of strengthening the wider research ecosystem, to enable partner countries to deliver sustainable economic growth, in line with national and UK priorities,” said Dr Jordan Kyongo, Research and Innovation Advisor at the British Embassy in Nairobi.
The complete presentations of the 14 consortia are available here DELTAS Africa ll Consortia
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) pour Science For Africa Foundation.
Source : African Media Agency (AMA)