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 » A new approach to research for health to combat infectious diseases in Africa
15.10.2015 - Natural Sciences Sector

A new approach to research for health to combat infectious diseases in Africa

© UN Photo/Martine Perret Health Worker at Ebola Isolation Ward in Kabala, Sierra Leone

The burden of infectious diseases continues to be disproportionately high in some African countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, with significant impacts on health and socio-economic development. However, the difficulties in applying scientific research to improve health are particularly acute in the region. Creating an enabling political environment and building capacity for life sciences and health research are fundamental to improving people’s wellbeing across the continent. This will be the focus of the Africa Research Summit organized by UNESCO and Merck that will be live-streamed on 19-20 October 2015 from Geneva.

There is currently a lack of international resources dedicated to regional health needs and a shortage of expenditure on health research. The need to support research in order to address the challenges of infectious disease is recognized in the recently adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as Target 3.b: “Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and non-communicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries”. This year’s Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine, awarded to research on infectious diseases, is another strong message, shining a light on health-related issues that can only be addressed adequately when countries have built a strong scientific research environment to support discoveries, inventions, and innovations.

The Africa Research Summit is part of an effort to build the capacities of African researchers in the life and medical sciences and thus, support the improvement of health systems in Africa. There are two key areas which must be addressed. Firstly, the lack of local capacity in the life sciences to perform high-quality research on neglected health needs. Secondly, the ineffectiveness of current mechanisms for translating research into health solutions, which can be disseminated to those most in need. The 2015 Summit will focus on the role of building capacities in the life sciences to address challenges of infectious diseases, most notably the Ebola crises.

The Summit will place “specific emphasis on how to translate knowledge into action - the 'know-do gap' - to improve health,” explained Flavia Schlegel, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO. “Moreover, the summit will provide a platform for dialogue on improving global cooperation on life science and health research and narrowing the disparities in health systems performance between developing and developed countries.”

The Summit is the first of an annual series, organized by UNESCO and Merck in in close cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Universities of Cambridge (UK) and Rome (Italy). This summit will bring together over 100 researchers from 32 crountries across Africa to discuss the generation, sharing and dissemination of research data and to prepare for the road ahead in Africa’s development as an international hub for research excellence and scientific innovation. The Summits will provide follow-up to the Bamako Call to Action on new approaches to research for health, issued at the conclusion of the 2008 Global Ministerial Forum on Research for Health in Bamako, Mali (organized by UNESCO and WHO).

Follow the Summit live on 19-20 October 2015.

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