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Sub-Saharan African region news, resources and funding for global health researchers

NIH supports a diverse mix of research projects in sub-Saharan Africa with significant activities in approximately 20 African countries. About a third of the funding supports groundbreaking research and research training on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, including a substantial effort to study mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Around 20 percent funds research on other infectious diseases, ranging from population-based research on malaria, schistosomiasis and leishmaniasis, to molecular research on vectors and parasites. Chronic disease research makes up about 12 percent of the research portfolio, with the remainder devoted to child development, biodiversity, basic research and other studies.

Countries in Region

Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, São Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Grant Awards in Region

• Fogarty grant awards impacting the sub-Saharan African Region

Recent Region News

• African Postdoctoral Training Initiative (APTI) announces second cohort of fellows to be hosted at NIH
  Fogarty/NIH news, April 14, 2021
• MEPI program enabled African junior faculty to develop research skills, become independent investigators
  Mar / Apr 2021 Global Health Matters
• Voices of MEPI Junior Faculty fellows
  Mar / Apr 2021 Global Health Matters
• Profile: Fogarty Scholar Dr Joseph Matovu investigates HIV self-testing in Ugandan fishing community
  Mar / Apr 2021 Global Health Matters
• Profile: Dr Andrew Kim studies the impact of apartheid-based prenatal stress and COVID-19 in South Africa
  Jan / Feb 2021 Global Health Matters
• Prawn farming reduces disease, provides food source in Senegal
  Nov / Dec 2020 Global Health Matters
• Scientists in Tanzania show bacterial zoonoses, not malaria, often the cause of febrile diseases
  Nov / Dec 2020 Global Health Matters
• Profile: Fogarty Fellow Dr Matchecane Cossa studied surgical quality in Mozambique
  Nov / Dec 2020 Global Health Matters
• Harnessing Data Science for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa (DS-I Africa):
• Focus: NIH hosts virtual conference on data science in Africa
  Sep / Oct 2020 Global Health Matters
• Data science potential for Africa examined during NIH virtual symposium
• Applicants urged to find diverse partners for new NIH DS-I Africa program
• Research hubs will harness innovation to advance African data science discoveries
• Unique methods needed to train African data scientists
• Conducting ethical data science research in Africa
• Leveraging data ecosystems to foster African research networks
• Developing biomedical technology to support global health research
  Q and A with Dr Bruce Tromberg
• Now is the time to catalyze data science and health innovation in Africa
  Opinion by Fogarty Director Dr Roger I Glass
• NIH launches $58M Harnessing Data Science for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa program
  Jul / Aug 2020 Global Health Matters
• NIH Common Fund issues two awards for COVID-19 research in Africa
  Sep / Oct 2020 Global Health Matters
• African experts share COVID-19 contact tracing tips
  Sep / Oct 2020 Global Health Matters
• Scientists study intersection of COVID-19 and HIV in Africa
  Jul / Aug 2020 Global Health Matters
• Fogarty fellow captures 'lived experiences' of frontline health care workers, COVID-19 patients in South Africa
  Jul / Aug 2020 Global Health Matters
• Former Fogarty grantee leads COVID-19 genomics work in Africa: Q and A with Dr Christian Happi
  May / June 2020 Global Health Matters
• Fogarty grantee Dr Manasi Kumar studies COVID impact on pregnant teens in Kenya
  May / June 2020 Global Health Matters
• Conducting research in a pandemic raises thorny bioethics issues, bioethics grantee in South Africa shares insights
  May / June 2020 Global Health Matters
• Combining roles as a physician, scientist and policymaker in Zambia
  Q and A with former Fogarty trainee Dr Lloyd Mulenga
  Mar / Apr 2020 Global Health Matters
• Profile: Fogarty Scholar Dr. Nauzley Abedini studies neonatal jaundice in Ghana
  Mar / Apr 2020 Global Health Matters
• Maternal cumulative prevalence measures of child mortality show heavy burden in sub-Saharan Africa
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), February 25, 2020
• Prioritizing research training and medical education in Africa: Q and A with AFREhealth PI Dr Jean Nachega
  January / February 2020 Global Health Matters
• Innovative microscope enables early Kaposi's sarcoma diagnoses in Uganda
  January / February 2020 Global Health Matters
• Mobile tool deployed in Tanzania designed to alleviate late-stage cancer pain
  January / February 2020 Global Health Matters
• Scientist studies the moringa plant’s medicinal, nutritional benefits in Kenya
  January / February 2020 Global Health Matters
• Genes linked to schizophrenia identified in ancestral African population
  NIH Research Matters, February 11, 2020
• Fogarty grantees develop biomedical engineering expertise in Africa
  Sep / Oct 2019 Global Health Matters
• Opinion: Celebrating 30 years of capacity building in Rakai, Uganda to advance research discoveries
  Sep / Oct 2019 Global Health Matters
• Building AIDS research capacity in Botswana: Q and A with Dr. Simani Gaseitsiwe
  Sep / Oct 2019 Global Health Matters
• Profile: Fogarty Fellow Neiloy Sircar uses legal skills to study human rights and HIV/AIDS in Kenya
  Sep / Oct 2019 Global Health Matters
• Scientists in Madagascar study novel methods to predict disease spread with support from NIH-NSF
  Sep / Oct 2019 Global Health Matters
• Report: Transforming the Institutional Landscape in Sub-Saharan Africa: Considerations for Leveraging Africa’s Research Capacity to Achieve Socioeconomic Development
  Center for Global Development, July 1, 2019
• Profile: Fogarty Fellow Dr Eric Coker sheds new light on Uganda's indoor air pollution
  May / Jun 2019 Global Health Matters
• New fellowship program will bring African scientists to train at NIH
  Jan / Feb 2019 Global Health Matters
• Building neurology research capacity in Zambia: Q and A with Dr Omar Siddiqi
  Jan / Feb 2019 Global Health Matters
• Preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission in South Africa:
  Q and A with Dr Glenda Gray
  Nov / Dec 2018 Global Health Matters
• Profile: Fogarty Fellow Dr Cameron Gaskill studies HIV referral patterns in Ghana
  Nov / Dec 2018 Global Health Matters
• The Medical Education Partnership Initiative: Strengthening Human Resources to End AIDS and Improve Health in Africa, co-authored by Fogarty leadership
  Academic Medicine courtesy of PubMed, October 16, 2018
• Sub-Saharan Africa’s health, research workforce gets $26M boost
  Sep / Oct 2018 Global Health Matters
• As dementia rises in Africa, urgent need for research
  Sep / Oct 2018 Global Health Matters
• Second NIH Rwandan Fellow Dr. J. Damascene Kabakambira works to prevent diabetes in Africa
  NIMHD/NIH news, July 24, 2018
• Related news: First fellow graduates from NIH-Rwanda program
  Jul / Aug 2017 Global Health Matters
• Research to guide practice: enhancing HIV/AIDS platform to address non-communicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa [Open access], generated by a project led by Fogarty’s Center for Global Health Studies
  Supplement to AIDS, July 1, 2018
• Fogarty continues to advance African health education
  Jan / Feb 2018 Global Health Matters
• Making the case for African investment in research
  Opinion by Fogarty Director Dr Roger I Glass
  Jan / Feb 2018 Global Health Matters
• Multigenerational research in South Africa leads to HIV discoveries
  Jan / Feb 2018 Global Health Matters
• Study links gut-homing protein levels with HIV infection risk, disease progression, co-funded by NIH and the South African Medical Research Council
  NIAID/NIH news, January 24, 2018
• Related publication: Integrin α4β7 expression on peripheral blood CD4+ T cells predicts HIV acquisition and disease progression outcomes
  Science Translational Medicine, January 24, 2018
• Continuing to strengthen science capacity in Africa
  Opinion by Fogarty Director Dr Roger I Glass
  Sep / Oct 2016 Global Health Matters
• NIH-led effort uses implementation science approaches to reduce mother-to-child HIV transmission
  Jul / Aug 2016 Global Health Matters
• Related publication: Advancing Implementation Science in Prevention of Maternal-Child HIV Transmission
  Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS) Supplement, August 2016
• Ebola, Zika modelers aim to inform policy decisions
  Mar / Apr 2016 Global Health Matters

Fogarty Contact

Stacy Wallick, M.P.H.
International Program Officer
Division of International Relations
Fogarty International Center
National Institutes of Health
Building 31 Room B2C11
Bethesda, MD 20892-2220
Telephone: 301-496-2091
FAX: 301-480-3414
Email (preferred): Stacy.Wallick@nih.gov

NIH News & Resources

• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Global Research in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Research needed to treat sickle cell disease in Africa
  Nov/Dec 2014 Global Health Matters
• African medical education is being transformed by US program, journal articles report
  Fogarty news, July 30, 2014
• Research is essential to improving health in Africa
  Opinion by Fogarty Director Dr Roger I Glass
  Sep / Oct 2014 Global Health Matters

US Government Resources

• President Donald J. Trump’s Africa strategy advances prosperity, security and stability
  White House Fact Sheet, December 13, 2018
• U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
• U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Africa

Online Resources

• African Academy of Sciences (AAS)
• Clinical Trials Community (CTC), an African Academy of Sciences platform
• African Journal Partnership Program (AJPP)
• Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA)
• Federation of African Immunological Societies (FAIS) Legacy Project to support Ph.D. students across Africa
• Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) report:
  The Global Burden of Disease: Generating Evidence, Guiding Policy - Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Edition
• Scientific African, an open access, pan-African scientific journal
• World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa