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| Socking it to malaria just the start for Africa's new science alliance | Socking it to malaria just the start for Africa's new science alliance |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Fredros Okumu was intrigued by mosquitoes from a young age, and was especially curious about why the deadly insects seemed drawn to some people but not others. | Fredros Okumu was intrigued by mosquitoes from a young age, and was especially curious about why the deadly insects seemed drawn to some people but not others. |
| He and his friends carried out endless experiments to learn more about the tiny scourge of their village, which had claimed so many lives of friends and family. | He and his friends carried out endless experiments to learn more about the tiny scourge of their village, which had claimed so many lives of friends and family. |
| Related: Africa's year free of polio is giant step towards eradication | Related: Africa's year free of polio is giant step towards eradication |
| Okumu went on to become one of Africa’s leading malaria researchers. In 2009, he won a $775,000 (£503,000) grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Grand Challenges Canada to develop an attractant that uses the smell of dirty socks to lure mosquitoes into traps. | Okumu went on to become one of Africa’s leading malaria researchers. In 2009, he won a $775,000 (£503,000) grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Grand Challenges Canada to develop an attractant that uses the smell of dirty socks to lure mosquitoes into traps. |
| Dr Okumu was one of the speakers at a panel in Nairobi on Thursday during the launch of the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (Aesa), a new initiative that will commit tens of millions of dollars to building scientific capacity across the continent. | Dr Okumu was one of the speakers at a panel in Nairobi on Thursday during the launch of the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (Aesa), a new initiative that will commit tens of millions of dollars to building scientific capacity across the continent. |
| The funding platform, which will support scientists seeking innovative ways to tackle some of the health challenges that have hobbled growth in Africa, aims to mobilise researchers from across the continent to invest in local research and training. | The funding platform, which will support scientists seeking innovative ways to tackle some of the health challenges that have hobbled growth in Africa, aims to mobilise researchers from across the continent to invest in local research and training. |
| “This is a really exciting moment,” said Okumu. “A lot of research takes place in Africa but the leadership of the research teams is rarely African. This initiative, which will see Africans taking charge, will mean that we can come up with research ideas that reflect local needs and our key priorities.” | “This is a really exciting moment,” said Okumu. “A lot of research takes place in Africa but the leadership of the research teams is rarely African. This initiative, which will see Africans taking charge, will mean that we can come up with research ideas that reflect local needs and our key priorities.” |
| The backers of the initiative hope Aesa, which will be headquartered in Nairobi, will emerge as a key scientific thinktank, offering funding to various research efforts that seek to advance the battle against diseases such as malaria, one of the leading killers in Africa. | The backers of the initiative hope Aesa, which will be headquartered in Nairobi, will emerge as a key scientific thinktank, offering funding to various research efforts that seek to advance the battle against diseases such as malaria, one of the leading killers in Africa. |
| The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the UK Department for International Development (DfID) are the main funders. | The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the UK Department for International Development (DfID) are the main funders. |
| Dr Tom Kariuki, who will head the Aesa secretariat, indicated that a primary objective will be to turn the tide against the many easily preventable diseases that claim millions of lives on the continent. | Dr Tom Kariuki, who will head the Aesa secretariat, indicated that a primary objective will be to turn the tide against the many easily preventable diseases that claim millions of lives on the continent. |
| “Africa has the highest disease burden in the world and we have the lowest number of scientists,” said Kariuki. “But we are also one of the most promising places on Earth, with the world’s most youthful population. We need to harness this promise and to pursue domestically driven solutions, and a key way to do that is to create a large body of scientists and knowledge centres.” | “Africa has the highest disease burden in the world and we have the lowest number of scientists,” said Kariuki. “But we are also one of the most promising places on Earth, with the world’s most youthful population. We need to harness this promise and to pursue domestically driven solutions, and a key way to do that is to create a large body of scientists and knowledge centres.” |
| The new body will manage two initiatives – Grand Challenges Africa and the Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science (Deltas) Africa awards – which have funded academic efforts in universities and research institutes in Mali, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. | The new body will manage two initiatives – Grand Challenges Africa and the Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science (Deltas) Africa awards – which have funded academic efforts in universities and research institutes in Mali, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. |
| Professor Abdoulaye Djimdé of Mali will lead a team exploring the genetics of malaria parasites and tracking malaria parasite migration in an attempt to solve one of the most persistent problems scientists have encountered with mosquitoes: their capacity to develop drug resistance. | Professor Abdoulaye Djimdé of Mali will lead a team exploring the genetics of malaria parasites and tracking malaria parasite migration in an attempt to solve one of the most persistent problems scientists have encountered with mosquitoes: their capacity to develop drug resistance. |
| In Kenya, an £8m training programme aimed at developing the skills of young African scientists from intern to postdoctoral level will receive support. | In Kenya, an £8m training programme aimed at developing the skills of young African scientists from intern to postdoctoral level will receive support. |
| Mental health will be the focus of a £4.2m research initiative in Zimbabwe, a nation of 14 million people but only 11 trained psychiatrists. | Mental health will be the focus of a £4.2m research initiative in Zimbabwe, a nation of 14 million people but only 11 trained psychiatrists. |
| The effort, which will be based in Harare, will involve training researchers from Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe to gain a better understanding of a problem rarely diagnosed in the continent. | The effort, which will be based in Harare, will involve training researchers from Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe to gain a better understanding of a problem rarely diagnosed in the continent. |
| Other programmes include a £3.5m South Africa-led biostatistics data collection initiative that will help to train masters and PhD students in collaboration with the Sub-Saharan African Consortium for Advanced Biostatistical training project. The initiative will be led by Professor Tobias Chirwa of the University of the Witwatersrand, with the researchers aiming to fill a gap in the region left by the absence of statistics to inform health and clinical policy. | Other programmes include a £3.5m South Africa-led biostatistics data collection initiative that will help to train masters and PhD students in collaboration with the Sub-Saharan African Consortium for Advanced Biostatistical training project. The initiative will be led by Professor Tobias Chirwa of the University of the Witwatersrand, with the researchers aiming to fill a gap in the region left by the absence of statistics to inform health and clinical policy. |
| Simon Kay of the Wellcome Trust said the new funding model represented a “shift of the centre of gravity in management of African science to Africa”, arguing that the approach offered considerable promise. | Simon Kay of the Wellcome Trust said the new funding model represented a “shift of the centre of gravity in management of African science to Africa”, arguing that the approach offered considerable promise. |
| Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, the president of Mauritius and a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, welcomed the launch of Aesa but warned that much work lay ahead to provide sustainable solutions to the continent’s disease burden. | Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, the president of Mauritius and a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, welcomed the launch of Aesa but warned that much work lay ahead to provide sustainable solutions to the continent’s disease burden. |
| “We know it can be done,” said Gurib-Fakim, the Nairobi panel’s keynote speaker. “We have seen the example of countries such as China and India, which managed to lure back their scientists from the diaspora not just by offering competitive salaries but, more importantly, by building the necessary infrastructure to enable the scientists to do their work. The challenge for Africa is in making a similar investment to help create the right environment for innovation and research.” | “We know it can be done,” said Gurib-Fakim, the Nairobi panel’s keynote speaker. “We have seen the example of countries such as China and India, which managed to lure back their scientists from the diaspora not just by offering competitive salaries but, more importantly, by building the necessary infrastructure to enable the scientists to do their work. The challenge for Africa is in making a similar investment to help create the right environment for innovation and research.” |