Supporting research leadership in Africa

A long-term process for decolonizing and democratizing community-focused research: the case for MicroResearch in East Africa and in Canada

Academics and multinational pharmaceutical companies from high-income countries (HIC) are major drivers of health research in many low- and low-middle-income countries (LMIC) but have neglected investing in and growing local research capacity. Community-focused health research in LMICs needs to be more locally driven and benefiting. The MicroResearch (MR) workshop program supports teams of local healthcare workers and community experts to identify local healthcare problems. Once a problem is clearly identified, the team then develops a research proposal and is empowered to conduct this research to find solutions to address the problem that fit the local context, culture and resources. Knowledge translation of the findings is a key element in MR. By placing the drivers of change in the hands of locals, the decolonization of the local health research has begun. MR also democratizes health research by extending community health research training beyond local academics and by fostering gender equity. More than half of the local MR research project team leaders, as selected by team members, are women. The success of MR in LMIC has led to its adaptation for use in HIC such as Canada. Decolonization and democratization of community-focused research is practical and achievable and should be seen as best practice in global health research capacity building.

Model framework for governance of genomic research and biobanking in Africa - a content description

Genomic research and biobanking are expanding globally, with a promise to fast-track the research needed to improve approaches to disease treatment and prevention through scientific collaborations such as the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) initiative. Integral to this type of research is the availability of samples and data for research. The need for broad access brings along a host of ethical concerns, including those related to privacy and confidentiality, as well as fairness and equity in access and capacity to utilise these samples between scientists from the high income and low income countries. Addressing these concerns while promoting genomic research, especially in Africa, requires the implementation of a sound governance framework. In this paper, we describe the contents of a Framework for Best Practice for Genomics Research and biobanking in Africa that was developed, under the auspices of the H3Africa initiative. This framework is broad enough to be used and adapted by African countries to facilitate the development of country-specific guidelines and to help improve the conduct and governance of genomics research.

Model framework for governance of genomic research and biobanking in Africa - a content description

Genomic research and biobanking are expanding globally, with a promise to fast-track the research needed to improve approaches to disease treatment and prevention through scientific collaborations such as the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) initiative. Integral to this type of research is the availability of samples and data for research. The need for broad access brings along a host of ethical concerns, including those related to privacy and confidentiality, as well as fairness and equity in access and capacity to utilise these samples between scientists from the high income and low income countries. Addressing these concerns while promoting genomic research, especially in Africa, requires the implementation of a sound governance framework. In this paper, we describe the contents of a Framework for Best Practice for Genomics Research and biobanking in Africa that was developed, under the auspices of the H3Africa initiative. This framework is broad enough to be used and adapted by African countries to facilitate the development of country-specific guidelines and to help improve the conduct and governance of genomics research.