The Harnessing Data Science for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa (DS-I Africa) initiative is a consortium led by African and U.S. investigators who hope to solve the continent’s most pressing public health problems by collaborating across disciplines. It began with 19 projects in 2021 and grew to a total of 38 projects in 2023.
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In 1992, Loretta Sweet Jemmott, PhD, constructed a randomized controlled trial funded by NINR that trained U.S. nurses on how to talk about HIV prevention. Later, the CDC selected ‘Sister-to-Sister’ for further study. Since then, Jemmott has continued her research in the U.S. and abroad with support from NIH and Fogarty.
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As a practicing OB-GYN in Michigan, Emma Lawrence, MD, routinely sees and treats hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, a leading cause of a mother’s death during childbirth in parts of Ghana. Lawrence's Fogarty fellowship project investigated home blood pressure monitoring among pregnant women in Ghana.
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Colorectal cancer (CRC) rates are rising in sub-Saharan Africa. Akbar Waljee, MD, a professor at the University of Michigan, collaborates with DS-I Africa colleagues in the U.S. and at Aga Khan University in Nairobi, Kenya, to demonstrate gaps in care and care delivery and to investigate an AI-enabled clinical decision support system.
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Joseph Zunt, MD, is a neurologist and Professor of Global Health at the University of Washington School of Public Health. His research focuses on infectious diseases, neglected diseases and tropical medicine, neurology, and stroke. He has mentored hundreds of U.S. and international students, physicians and post-doctoral candidates in nine countries through various programs, including Fogarty’s LAUNCH Program.
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Accessing, using, and sharing medical data is restricted by the necessary regulations to protect patient privacy. Yet this constrains the development and deployment of new technologies within health systems, says Dorcas Mwigereri, a research fellow at Aga Khan University. She believes synthetic data can help solve this problem.
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One of the biggest challenges that DS-I Africa scientists face is understanding how to manage and integrate data within their research projects. Michèle Ramsay, PhD, and Scott Hazelhurst, PhD, work together on the Multimorbidity in Africa: Digital Innovation, Visualisation, and Application (MADIVA) research hub.
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Fogarty shapes how countries advance health outcomes for all and respond to evolving challenges, thereby creating value for American health security and scientific leadership. A recently published analysis provides timely, data-driven evidence that reinforces Fogarty’s perspective and its mission.
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Updated February 19, 2026