Facebook groups exist to share information about most classes of animals and plants, and these communities have unprecedented observational power.
Workers assemble personal protective equipment for frontline health staff at a factory in Accra commissioned by the government.
Photo by Nipah Dennis/AFP via Getty Images
Staging this conference in all time zones with fair distribution of prime-time events was no small feat. But the exchange of ideas, experiences and solutions remained a strong priority.
Mining and utilities businesses have low levels of innovation.
Getty Images
COVID-19 antibody tests can’t replace the use of PCR tests in people showing symptoms. But they can help test people who may be infected and asymptomatic.
A balloon of Google’s “Project Loon” to supply remote areas with Internet connections.
Andrej Sokolow/picture alliance via Getty Images
An ideal test for the diagnosis of COVID-19 would be cheap, accurate and easy to use. The key is to choose an affordable test with the strengths and limitations meet a population’s needs.
A general view during the country’s first human clinical trial for a potential COVID-19 vaccine in Soweto, South Africa.
Felix Dlangamandla/Beeld/Gallo Images via Getty Images
There isn’t enough clinical research being done in Africa. This has had a lot of repercussions in terms of the timing when interventions become available and effective in high income countries.
A researcher wearing a face mask and gloves as a preventive measure inside a laboratory.
Chaiwat Subprasom/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Vaccine development usually spans a number of decades. This is because there’s a need to understand the mechanisms of protection against the pathogen, and to minimise adverse reactions.
A volunteer receives an injection from a medical worker during the country’s first human clinical trial for a potential vaccine against COVID-19 in Soweto, South Africa.
Felix Dlangamandla/Beeld/Gallo Images via Getty Images
In a pandemic like this one, the priority is to save lives. But without a vaccine, there’s a limit in the tools available to save lives.
A researcher holds a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine at the National Primate Research Center of Chulalongkorn University in Thailand.
Chaiwat Subprasom/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
History shows that treatments and vaccines have been accessible to African countries only after the loss of millions of lives and typically years - sometimes decades - after developed nations.
The French mobile phone application StopCovid, developed to trace people who test positive with COVID-19.
Chesnot/Getty Images
In a country marred by systematic discrimination and continued social marginalisation, particular consideration needs to be given to the measures being used to contain the spread of COVID-19.
African policymakers should strenuously safeguard their right to choose from the widest possible range of technology options that suit their countries’ development needs.
A researcher performs a CRISPR/Cas9 process at the Max-Delbrueck-Centre for Molecular Medicine in Germany .
Gregor Fischer/picture alliance via Getty Images
There has been a rapid redirection of resources towards COVID-19-related research. In the long term, this resource reallocation is likely to result in budget cuts in all research areas.
Lack of technology infrastructure is a barrier to mobile healthcare in Nigeria
Stefan Heunis/AFP via Getty Images
Findings that are effectively communicated can go a long way to serve the interests of the public. They can help to address social injustices or improve treatments offered to patients.
The work that’s done in research institutes and labs is crucial.
nhungboon/Shutterstock
While there are various good reasons for doing research and funding research, the chief reason is that research provides essential insurance against catastrophic events.
Dean Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand; and Director of the SAMRC Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand
Professor of Organic Chemistry, Neville Isdell Chair in African-centric Drug Discovery & Development, and Director of the Holistic Drug Discovery and Development (H3D) Centre, University of Cape Town
Professor of medicine and deputy director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town