ZIMBABWEAN researchers will join other African researchers from 21 countries gathered in Ghana for a three-day Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science (DELTAS) meeting aimed at showcasing major groundbreaking research related to health.
BY PHYLLIS MBANJE
Africa has a disproportionate global disease burden of 25% despite that it represents 17% of the world’s population. Devastating disease outbreaks such as Ebola and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases have underscored the need for locally relevant research.
The Zimbabwean researchers, who are grantees for DELTAS, are carrying out research in various areas.
Primrose Nyamayaro, a research psychologist based at the University of Zimbabwe, is validating a screening tool for neurocognitive disorders associated with HIV.
In Zimbabwe specifically, there are currently no validated screening tools available for use in routine care.
Nyamayaro aims to validate the neuroscreen, an app-based cognitive screener, using a task shifting approach. Scientist Patience Shumba is pioneering research tests on why some TB bacteria survive treatment.
Another Zimbabwean researcher, Jesca Batidzirai, who is attending the event, is researching the impact of early child marriages and teen pregnancies on one’s health.
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“We are glad to be hosting some of Africa’s best minds in Ghana, which shows a commitment from our scientists to galvanise resources to solving our pressing health challenges,” said Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Ghana’s Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation.
In the two years since its implementation, DELTAS Africa has recruited close to 500 masters, PhD and postdoctoral fellows, half of whom are women.
“Through DELTAS Africa, we are contributing to increasing the population of African health researchers and women scientists and providing the infrastructure needed to do quality research to improve health outcomes and to retain our best young talent on the continent,” said Tom Kariuki, African Academy of Sciences interim executive director and Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) director.
DELTAS Africa is a $100 million programme supporting the Africa-led development of world-class researchers and scientific leaders in the continent. It was launched in 2015 with funding commitments through 2020 by the African Academy of Sciences and the NEPAD agency’s AESA, with the support of the Wellcome Trust and the UK’s Department for International Development.
