A critical mass of public health researchers is being set up to find local solutions to local problems within new research hubs in eight universities across the continent.
According to the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA), the research hubs encompass a multi-disciplinary PhD training and capacity strengthening programme, providing a platform for African scholars to engage in rigorous research, contributing to scientific advancements.
The consortium alumni and a host of public health researchers drawn from academia, government and research institutions met at the University of Witwatersrand recently to review its progress in promoting African research in public health.The consortium has been awarded a multi-million dollar grant to advance the second phase of its Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training, and Science in Africa (DELTAS Africa) Initiative, which will support the consortium’s commitment to strengthening research capacity.
The consortium of eight African universities, four African research institutions and eight universities from outside the continent is hosted by Nairobi-based African Population and Health Research Center.
The initiative has enrolled 245 fellows in different research programmes. “It is unlikely that a foreign-led research programme could build such research capacity as CARTA,” said Evelyn Gitau, APHRC’s director of research capacity strengthening.
Catherine Kyobutungi, CARTA co-director, and executive director of APHRC said a second phase of DELTAS funding is “a unique opportunity to further strengthen the research ecosystem in the continent. It will facilitate greater collaboration, improved research infrastructure, and enhanced capacity building, advancing our collective efforts towards sustainable development.”
The second phase of DELTAS Africa is funded by the Nairobi-based Science for Africa Foundation with support from the Wellcome Trust and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office. Research hubs have been created in partner universities with five successful research teams recently awarded grants for setting up the hubs. The grants will support the development of extended concepts for the research hubs that will serve as centers of excellence in key priority areas and facilitate knowledge exchange and multi-disciplinary collaboration.
“Getting a PhD is just a beginning. With the research hubs, CARTA is creating platforms to host research projects and help build research leaders,” Kyobutungi told Nature Africa.
