tag:theconversation.com,2011:/es/topics/science-and-innovation-for-development-38462/articlesScience and innovation for development – The Conversation2024-02-27T14:08:45Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229052024-02-27T14:08:45Z2024-02-27T14:08:45ZAfrica needs China for its digital development – but at what price?<p>Digital technologies have many potential benefits for people in African countries. They can support the delivery of healthcare services, promote access to education and lifelong learning, and enhance financial inclusion. </p>
<p>But there are obstacles to realising these benefits. The backbone infrastructure needed to connect communities is missing in places. Technology and finance are lacking too. </p>
<p>In 2023, only <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ITU_regional_global_Key_ICT_indicator_aggregates_Nov_2023.xlsx">83%</a> of the population of sub-Saharan Africa was covered by at least a 3G mobile network. In all other regions the coverage was more than 95%. In the same year, <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ITU_regional_global_Key_ICT_indicator_aggregates_Nov_2023.xlsx">less than half of Africa’s population</a> had an active mobile broadband subscription, lagging behind Arab states (75%) and the Asia-Pacific region (88%). Therefore, Africans made up a substantial share of the estimated <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/mediacentre/Pages/PR-2023-09-12-universal-and-meaningful-connectivity-by-2030.aspx#:%7E:text=The%20number%20of%20people%20worldwide,global%20population%20unconnected%20in%202023.">2.6 billion</a> people globally who remained offline in 2023.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://gga.org/china-expands-its-digital-sovereignty-to-africa/">key partner</a> in Africa in unclogging this bottleneck is China. Several African countries depend on China as their main technology provider and sponsor of large digital infrastructural projects.</p>
<p>This relationship is the subject of a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09692290.2023.2297363">study</a> I published recently. The study showed that at least 38 countries worked closely with Chinese companies to advance their domestic fibre-optic network and data centre infrastructure or their technological know-how. </p>
<p>China’s involvement was critical as African countries made great strides in digital development. Despite the persisting digital divide between Africa and other regions, 3G network coverage <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ITU_regional_global_Key_ICT_indicator_aggregates_Nov_2023.xlsx">increased from 22% to 83%</a> between 2010 and 2023. Active mobile broadband subscriptions increased <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ITU_regional_global_Key_ICT_indicator_aggregates_Nov_2023.xlsx">from less than 2% in 2010 to 48% in 2023</a>. </p>
<p>For governments, however, there is a risk that foreign-driven digital development will keep existing dependence structures in place.</p>
<h2>Reasons for dependence on foreign technology and finance</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09692290.2023.2297363">global market</a> for information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure is controlled by a handful of producers. For instance, the main suppliers of fibre-optic cables, a network component that enables high-speed internet, are China-based Huawei and ZTE and the Swedish company Ericsson. </p>
<p>Many African countries, with limited internal revenues, can’t afford these network components. Infrastructure investments depend on foreign finance, including concessional loans, commercial credits, or public-private partnerships. These may also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308596124000107">influence a state’s choice of infrastructure provider</a>.</p>
<p>The African continent’s terrain adds to the technological and financial difficulties. Vast lands and challenging topographies make the roll-out of infrastructure very expensive. Private investors avoid sparsely populated areas because it doesn’t pay them to deliver a service there. </p>
<p>Landlocked states depend on the infrastructure and goodwill of coastal countries to connect to international fibre-optic landing stations.</p>
<h2>A full-package solution</h2>
<p>It is sometimes assumed that African leaders choose Chinese providers because they offer the cheapest technology. <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/networking/uganda-orders-probe-into-huaweis-fiber-project/">Anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise</a>. Chinese contractors are attractive partners because they can offer full-package solutions that include finance. </p>
<p>Under the so-called <a href="https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00TN5G.pdf">“EPC+F”</a> (Engineer, Procure, Construct + Fund/Finance) scheme, Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE oversee the engineering, procurement and construction while Chinese banks provide state-backed finance. Angola, Uganda and Zambia are just some of the countries which seem to have benefited from this type of deal.</p>
<p>All-round solutions like this appeal to African countries. </p>
<h2>What is in it for China?</h2>
<p>As part of its <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-137-57813-6_6">“go-global”</a> strategy, the Chinese government encourages Chinese companies to invest and operate overseas. The government offers financial backing and expects companies to raise the global competitiveness of Chinese products and the national economy. </p>
<p>In the long term, Beijing seeks to establish and promote Chinese digital standards and norms. Research partnerships and training opportunities expose a growing number of students to Chinese technology. The Chinese government’s expectation is that mobile applications and startups in Africa will increasingly reflect Beijing’s technological and ideological principles. That includes China’s interpretation of human rights, data privacy and freedom of speech. </p>
<p>This aligns with the vision of China’s “<a href="https://www.orfonline.org/research/the-digital-silk-road-in-the-indo-pacific-mapping-china-s-vision-for-global-tech-expansion">Digital Silk Road</a>”, which complements its <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative">Belt and Road Initiative</a>, creating new trade routes. </p>
<p>In the digital realm, the goal is technological primacy and greater autonomy from western suppliers. The government is striving for a more <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2021/04/chinas-digital-silk-road-and-the-global-digital-order/">Sino-centric global digital order</a>. Infrastructure investments and training partnerships in African countries offer a starting point. </p>
<h2>Long-term implications</h2>
<p>From a technological perspective, over-reliance on a single infrastructure supplier makes the client state more vulnerable. When a customer depends heavily on a particular supplier, it’s difficult and costly to switch to a different provider. African countries could become locked into the Chinese digital ecosystem.</p>
<p>Researchers like <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Arthur-Gwagwa">Arthur Gwagwa</a> from the Ethics Institute at Utrecht University (Netherlands) believe that China’s export of critical infrastructure components will <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/africa-embraces-huawei-technology-despite-security-concerns/a-60665700">enable military and industrial espionage</a>. These claims assert that Chinese-made equipment is designed in a way that could facilitate cyber attacks. </p>
<p>Human Rights Watch, an international NGO that conducts research and advocacy on human rights, has <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/05/09/future-technology-lessons-china-and-us">raised concerns</a> that Chinese infrastructure increases the risk of technology-enabled authoritarianism. In particular, Huawei has been <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/huawei-technicians-helped-african-governments-spy-on-political-opponents-11565793017">accused</a> of colluding with governments to spy on political opponents in Uganda and Zambia. Huawei has <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3023215/huawei-denies-helping-governments-uganda-and-zambia-spy">denied</a> the allegations. </p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>Chinese involvement provides a rapid path to digital progress for African nations. It also exposes African states to the risk of long-term dependence. The remedy is to diversify infrastructure supply, training opportunities and partnerships. </p>
<p>There is also a need to call for interoperability in international forums such as the <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/Pages/default.aspx">International Telecommunications Union</a>, a UN agency responsible for issues related to information and communication technologies. Interoperability allows a product or system to interact with other products and systems. It means clients can buy technological components from different providers and switch to other technological solutions. It favours market competition and higher quality solutions by preventing users from being locked in to one vendor. </p>
<p>Finally, in the long term African countries should produce their own infrastructure and become less dependent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222905/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie Arnold does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In sub-Saharan Africa, most governments welcome China’s investment in digital infrastructure.Stephanie Arnold, PhD Candidate, Università di BolognaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2052332023-06-07T14:04:05Z2023-06-07T14:04:05ZFoetal alcohol syndrome: facial modelling study explores technology to aid diagnosis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530314/original/file-20230606-17-xwgadc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Advances in facial recognition technology may have useful applications in healthcare.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Foetal alcohol syndrome is a lifelong condition <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/foetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder/">caused</a> by exposing an unborn baby to alcohol. It’s a pattern of mental, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2006.00683.x">physical</a> and behavioural symptoms seen in some people whose mothers consumed alcohol during pregnancy. Not all prenatal alcohol exposure results in the syndrome; it is the most severe form of a range of effects called foetal alcohol spectrum disorders. </p>
<p>South Africa has the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5710622/">highest reported rates</a> of <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-foetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorders-9871">foetal alcohol spectrum disorders</a> in the world: 111.1 per 1,000 population. The disorders may affect <a href="https://farrsa.org.za/library/#toggle-id-2">seven million</a> people in the country. The number could be higher because of under-diagnosis. </p>
<p>Foetal alcohol syndrome can’t be reversed. But confirmed diagnosis can have benefits. It can lead to early intervention and therapy (physical, occupational, and speech, among others), and a better <a href="https://farrsa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021-FASD-Pamphlet-13-Sept-2021.pdf">understanding</a> from parents and teachers. Diagnosis can also ensure that adults are eligible for social services support. </p>
<p>Clinicians use a range of methods to <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/2/e20154256/52445/Updated-Clinical-Guidelines-for-Diagnosing-Fetal">diagnose foetal alcohol syndrome</a>, including assessing abnormal growth and brain function. A key part of the process is looking at the individual’s facial features. Typical <a href="https://farrsa.org.za/library/#toggle-id-1">features</a> are small eye openings, a thin upper lip, and a smooth area between the nose and upper lip. </p>
<p>But visual examination of the facial features can be subjective and often depends on the clinician’s experience and expertise. Another challenge arises in low-resource settings when there aren’t many doctors specially trained to do this.</p>
<p>A more objective and standard way to detect foetal alcohol syndrome early would therefore be useful.</p>
<p>One method that’s being used to aid diagnosis is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.14875">three-dimensional (3D) surfaces</a> produced by devices that scan the face. The technology is costly and complex. Two-dimensional (2D) images are easier to get – it can be done with a digital camera or smartphone – but are not accurate enough for diagnosis.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2023/12064">Our study</a> sought to explore whether it was possible to use normal 2D face images to approximate 3D surfaces of the face. We showed that it was. Our method involved using 3D models that can change their shape based on a variety of real human faces, combined with 3D facial analysis technology.</p>
<p>We argue in our paper that our findings show the technology can improve early detection, intervention and treatment for people affected by foetal alcohol syndrome, particularly in low-resource settings. </p>
<p>We hope to contribute to the global effort to prevent and manage the lifelong consequences of the syndrome and disorders.</p>
<h2>How it would work</h2>
<p>We constructed a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3395208">flexible 3D model</a> that can alter its shape based on a variety of real human faces. The changes are guided by statistical patterns learned from a <a href="https://www.cs.binghamton.edu/%7Elijun/Research/3DFE/3DFE_Analysis.html">dataset of high-quality 3D scans</a> from 98 individuals. This international open-source dataset was carefully curated to represent different demographic groups. </p>
<p>We didn’t have access to image data of individuals affected by foetal alcohol syndrome. We therefore used 2D and 3D images of individuals without this condition to develop and validate our approach. We nevertheless reasoned that our method should work equally well for any scenario where the model and the test subjects are closely matched. </p>
<p>We then set out to develop and validate a machine learning algorithm for predicting 3D faces of unseen subjects, from their 2D face images only, using our 3D model. </p>
<p>This was a pioneering step in our research, where we aimed to create a “smart” tool that could bring flat images to life in three dimensions. The results of the study were encouraging. </p>
<p>Our 3D-from-2D prediction algorithm performed well in three ways:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>capturing facial variations</p></li>
<li><p>representing unique features</p></li>
<li><p>summarising information of faces from 2D images. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Since we had actual 3D face scans to use for comparison, we were able to calculate the average difference between these scans and the face shapes predicted by our model. This allowed us to measure the error in our fitting, which we found to be in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/TCYB.2014.2359056">line with other studies</a>. </p>
<p>We particularly focused on specific regions of the face: the eyes, midface, upper lip, and philtrum (the groove between the nose and the top lip). These regions provide crucial information for clinicians when examining the facial markers of foetal alcohol syndrome. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530325/original/file-20230606-28-vgz1xs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530325/original/file-20230606-28-vgz1xs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530325/original/file-20230606-28-vgz1xs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530325/original/file-20230606-28-vgz1xs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530325/original/file-20230606-28-vgz1xs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530325/original/file-20230606-28-vgz1xs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530325/original/file-20230606-28-vgz1xs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530325/original/file-20230606-28-vgz1xs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Facial regions associated with foetal alcohol syndrome on a normal face.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tinashe Mutsvangwa</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We could accurately predict these facial regions, and concluded from this that our method could form the foundation of an image-based diagnostic tool for foetal alcohol syndrome.</p>
<p>Our study also showed that the quality of our predictions was independent of skin tone. This is a crucial finding. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1179/1743131X14Y.0000000093">Certain 3D scanning technologies have been known to struggle with accurately capturing darker skin tones</a>. This issue is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjps.2019.05.002">being addressed</a>. Nevertheless, our findings gave us confidence that there was additional potential for use of our approach in diverse populations. </p>
<h2>Challenges</h2>
<p>We did identify some limitations. Access to 3D data of individuals with foetal alcohol syndrome remains a challenge. Future research could focus on reducing reconstruction errors to acceptable clinical standards by collecting and analysing larger datasets, including data from underrepresented populations.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/remembering-tania-douglas-a-brilliant-biomedical-engineer-academic-and-friend-161931">Remembering Tania Douglas: a brilliant biomedical engineer, academic and friend</a>
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<p><em>Our study is a continuation of the work carried out in collaboration with the late renowned South African biomedical engineer, <a href="https://sajs.co.za/article/view/11067">Tania Douglas</a> of the University of Cape Town.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205233/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tinashe Ernest Muzvidzwa Mutsvangwa receives funding from the South African National Research Foundation</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bernhard Egger receives funding from the German research council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Felix Atuhaire received funding from European Commission; the South African Department of Science and Innovation; the South African National Research Foundation.</span></em></p>Key to diagnosing foetal alcohol syndrome is an assessment of certain facial features. A 3D facial scan is expensive but 2D images may offer a solution.Tinashe Ernest Muzvidzwa Mutsvangwa, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, University of Cape TownBernhard Egger, Professor for Cognitive Computer Vision, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-NürnbergFelix Atuhaire, Lecturer, Mbarara University of Science and TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2065112023-05-31T12:35:38Z2023-05-31T12:35:38ZRemembering South Africa’s “Grand Geek” Barry Dwolatzky - engineer and programming pioneer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528576/original/file-20230526-21-3xadfe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Professor Barry Dwolatzky was passionate about innovation in all that he did.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wits University</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>To some of his former students, Professor Barry Dwolatzky was the “Grand Geek” – a name of which he was very proud. But Barry, who passed away in Johannesburg, South Africa on 16 May 2023, was much more than a computer geek. He was also a leader and a visionary in the field of software engineering in South Africa.</p>
<p>At the time of his passing he was 71 years old. He was by then retired from academia and held the title of Emeritus Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), where he spent much of his career. </p>
<p>But he didn’t really slow down: he remained the director of the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE), a role he’d held since 2007. During the COVID lockdown in 2020, he started a podcast called <a href="https://iono.fm/c/4965">Optimizing – Leading Africa’s Digital Future</a> and produced eight episodes. He also wrote an autobiography called <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/future/stories/looking-ahead-from-a-life-of-new-beginnings.html">Coded History – My Life of New Beginnings</a>, which was launched in November 2022.</p>
<h2>A pioneer in programming</h2>
<p>An alumnus of the School of Electrical and Information Engineering at Wits University, Barry graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1975. He then started a master’s degree, which he converted to a PhD.</p>
<p>After obtaining his PhD in 1979, he did post-doctoral research at the University of Manchester’s Institute of Science and Technology and at Imperial College in London. Thereafter, he worked as a senior research associate at the GEC-Marconi Centre in the UK.</p>
<p>I first met Barry in 1989 when he returned to South Africa as a senior lecturer in the School of Electrical Engineering at Wits. I was an undergraduate in his class that year. When I returned to Wits in 1998, he was my MSc supervisor and, when I was appointed as a lecturer in the School of Electrical Engineering, we were colleagues and friends.</p>
<p>When he joined the School, there was only one programming course, Engineering Applied Computing, taught to second-year electrical, civil and mechanical engineering students. Barry identified the growing importance of programming and information technology in engineering fields before anyone else in South Africa really had. Today, the School of Electrical & Information Engineering’s curriculum contains two second-year programming courses and a third-year course that is compulsory for all electrical and information engineering students. Barry was instrumental in introducing all these courses.</p>
<p>He was also the driving force behind the school’s name change: “Information Engineering” was added in the year 2000 with the introduction of a software stream that would be distinct from the electrical engineering stream.</p>
<p>The idea didn’t come from the blue. Talking to people in various companies, Barry realised that most of the school’s graduates went into the information and communications technology (ICT) sector rather than into the classical electrical engineering fields like electrical generation, transmission and distribution, high voltage engineering and control engineering. </p>
<p>That’s what prompted the development and introduction of the software stream. At that time, computers were becoming more common in many industries and the mobile phone sector was starting to take off.</p>
<h2>Software to drive development</h2>
<p>In the late 1980s, the then CEO of Eskom, South Africa’s national electricity utility, announced a mass roll-out of electrification called Electricity for All. Between 1990 and 2000, about 2.5 million houses were connected to the national grid. At that time, Barry started working on a software programme that would assist engineers in planning the electrification of townships, historically black urban residential areas. </p>
<p>A number of postgraduate students under his supervision worked on aspects of this software. He <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/624520">called the program CART</a> (Computer-Aided Reticulation of Townships). In 1997, he took a year-long sabbatical and worked full time on CART, developing it into a viable commercial product that was used to aid in the design of the electrification of many townships.</p>
<p>In 2005, Barry launched the <a href="https://jcse.org.za/">Joburg Centre for Software Engineering</a>. He became its director in 2007. It was the work he did through the centre that established him as an important thought leader in the software and IT space. Among other things, the centre hosted masterclasses with world renowned software experts.</p>
<h2>Innovation champion</h2>
<p>In 2012, Barry identified some old buildings owned by Wits University in Braamfontein, a high-rise downtown area of Johannesburg, as an ideal site for an innovation hub. Many people speak fondly of how Barry took them into a derelict disco with only the light from his mobile phone and enthusiastically explained how this was going to be a tech co-working space. He raised funding and transformed the rundown buildings into the innovation hub that is today one of the university’s flagship projects.</p>
<p>It is called the Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct. <a href="https://tshimologong.joburg/">Tshimologong</a> (a seTswana word for “place of new beginnings”) provides a space for digital start-ups, as well as training in digital technologies, and is used as a co-working space. Barry was Tshimologong’s first director and was honoured for this visionary project with the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Research and Teaching in 2016. </p>
<p>Even after retiring, Barry remained committed to and driven by the idea of innovation. He worked alongside Wits University’s deputy vice-chancellor, Professor Lynn Morris, to establish the <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/innovation/wits-innovation-centre/">Wits Innovation Centre</a>. It was launched on 17 April 2023. </p>
<p>He passed away in a Johannesburg hospital on 16 May with his wife Rina and his children Leslie and Jodie at his side.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206511/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Estelle Trengove does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many speak fondly of how Barry Dwolatzky took them into a derelict disco and enthusiastically explained the tech co-working space he envisioned there.Estelle Trengove, Associate professor in electrical engineering, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1995212023-03-22T13:14:25Z2023-03-22T13:14:25ZWe’re a step closer to learning how misplaced DNA could influence disease risk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515560/original/file-20230315-18-viwe4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>DNA is our body’s instruction manual. It contains all the information that our cells need to make proteins and other molecules vital for our development, growth and survival. </p>
<p>We inherit two different types of DNA from our parents: <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/nuclear-dna">nuclear</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/mitochondrial-dna">mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)</a>. Nuclear DNA is an equal mixture from both parents. mtDNA we only inherit from our mothers. It encodes essential components needed by our mitochondria to produce energy. </p>
<p>Mitochondria are the powerhouses or batteries of our cells. Consequently, genetic changes (or variants) in the mtDNA sequence can affect the energy production in our cells. </p>
<p>Genetic variants happen naturally. Most are harmless. When these variants are harmful, they can reduce the amount of energy produced in our cells. The loss of energy may cause cells that are especially dependent on energy (such as our brain cells or heart cells) to not function very well or even die. This in turn, could lead to the onset of diseases such as <a href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-disease-fact-sheet">Alzheimer’s</a> and <a href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/parkinsons-disease">Parkinson’s</a>.</p>
<p>Parkinson’s disease is an incurable disease affecting nerve cells in the brain. These cells require lots of energy. They normally produce a chemical called dopamine which helps to regulate our movements and emotional responses. In individuals with Parkinson’s disease these nerve cells die and not enough dopamine is produced in the brain. As a result, people with Parkinson’s <a href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/parkinsons-disease">experience symptoms</a> which affect their physical movements (resting tremors, loss of balance) as well as their mood and emotions (depression).</p>
<p>Our understanding of Parkinson’s disease is far from complete, especially in diverse societies such as South Africa. But <a href="https://translationalneurodegeneration.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40035-019-0165-9">researchers</a> now believe that in most cases, Parkinson’s is caused by a complex interaction between genetic (genetic variants) and environmental factors (for example exposure to environmental toxins). These factors likely interfere with the healthy functioning of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain.</p>
<p>Identifying potential genetic variants that influence Parkinson’s risk is key to understanding the disease better. It could also help develop better, more targeted treatments that are effective in local populations as well as the well-studied European or Asian populations.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.sun.ac.za/english/faculty/healthsciences/Molecular_Biology_Human_Genetics/parkinsonsdisease">research group</a> aims to uncover the genetic factors contributing to Parkinson’s disease in South Africa’s diverse local population. <a href="https://www.prd-journal.com/article/S1353-8020(11)00320-8/fulltext">Previous</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7085451/">research</a> has <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10048-019-00588-z">found</a> that genetic risk factors likely differ among populations.</p>
<h2>Human evolution</h2>
<p>Throughout human evolution, genetic variants have been passed on from one generation to the next, together with new ones from each generation. This has allowed our mtDNA to accumulate lots of genetic variants. The accumulation of such genetic variants in maternal lineages has led to the formation of so-called haplogroups (denoted by letters) or maternal genetic ancestry. People belonging to the same haplogroup share a common set of mtDNA variants. </p>
<p>Recent evidence from studying <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15620-leber-hereditary-optic-neuropathy-sudden-vision-loss#:%7E:text=Leber%20Hereditary%20Optic%20Neuropathy%20(LHON)%20is%20a%20disease%20inherited%20from,ages%20of%2015%20and%2035.">Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON)</a>, an mtDNA-affecting disease that results in vision loss, suggests that common, otherwise harmless, mtDNA variants could be harmful if they occur “out-of-place” on an uncommon haplogroup background. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2022.921412/full">recent study</a>, my colleagues and I hypothesised that mitochondrial dysfunction, resulting from the “incompatibility” of common haplogroup variants, could also play a role in predisposing people to more common and complex diseases such as Parkinson’s.</p>
<h2>African ancestry</h2>
<p>Common mtDNA variants that occur “out-of-place” have <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1007210%20,%20https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1202484109">previously</a> been shown to cause mitochondrial dysfunction. And mitochondrial dysfunction has repeatedly been implicated in Parkinson’s disease. Based on this knowledge our research group set out to investigate whether such “out-of-place” variants could contribute to Parkinsons’s risk in our local African population.</p>
<p>Our study is the first to investigate mtDNA in African ancestry individuals living with Parkinson’s disease. It’s also the first to explore the role of “out-of-place” mtDNA variants in Parkinson’s risk.</p>
<p>To investigate this, we sequenced the whole mtDNA of individuals with Parkinson’s and healthy volunteers without Parkinson’s. </p>
<p>In total we had two groups of people with Parkinson’s disease. One group of African ancestry cases and another group of European ancestry cases. We additionally had three groups of healthy volunteers: two of African ancestry and one of European ancestry. </p>
<h2>The findings</h2>
<p>We found significantly more African ancestry people with Parkinson’s carrying “out-of-place” variants compared to the healthy volunteers from one of the two African control groups. </p>
<p>But we didn’t see this significant difference when comparing the African Parkinson’s cases to the second African control group. We also didn’t pick up this difference when we compared the European ancestry Parkinson’s disease cases to the European volunteers. </p>
<p>The mixed results mean that we can’t say for sure that “out-of-place” variation could be a genetic risk factor for Parkinson’s in the local African ancestry population, but not in the European population. More studies that replicate our findings would be needed to confirm this. </p>
<h2>Consequences</h2>
<p>Although we could not replicate our findings across all of our study groups, our one significant finding extends the possible role of “out-of-place” variants in disease, from mtDNA-related mitochondrial disease to Parkinson’s. </p>
<p>We speculate that “out-of-place” variants could cause subtle changes in the cell’s energy production. This, together with additional Parkinson’s risk factors (for example genetic variants in nuclear DNA or exposure to environmental toxins), could contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction that ultimately leads to disease onset. </p>
<p>These “out-of-place” variants are considered common and thought to be less harmful than rare ones. However, our work <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28768321/">together</a> with that of <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2212417119">others</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5828459/">highlights</a> the importance of considering “out-of-place” mtDNA variants in disease as these variants may have the potential to inflict harm when taken out of context.</p>
<p>To effectively treat and eventually cure complex diseases such Parkinson’s, we first need to identify all their causes. Additional studies confirming “out-of-place” variation as another potential genetic contributor to disease, bring us one step closer to piecing together the complex puzzle that is Parkinson’s.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199521/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The work described in this article was based on research supported in part by the South African Medical Research Council (Self-Initiated Research Grant) and the South African Medical Research Council/Stellenbosch University Genomics of Brain Disorders Research Unit; the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Nos: 123256; and 129249); and the Harry Crossley Foundation.</span></em></p>Our understanding of Parkinson’s disease is far from complete. But researchers now believe that in most cases, Parkinson’s is caused by a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors.Amica Müller-Nedebock, Postdoctoral research fellow, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2007482023-03-05T14:25:45Z2023-03-05T14:25:45ZNigeria needs to take science more seriously - an agenda for the new president<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512858/original/file-20230301-24-5fs2sk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nigeria's new president must prioritise capacity retention of the country's scientists. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/young-african-female-research-scientist-and-senior-royalty-free-image/1440536900?phrase=science%20in%20nigeria&adppopup=true">Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nigerians voted to elect a new president <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerians-vote-election-hoping-better-economic-times-2023-02-25/">on 25 February</a> and he will be sworn in on 29 May 2023. One of his responsibilities must be to lead the country in taking science more seriously. Science should be the fulcrum of Nigeria’s development.</p>
<p>As a fellow and <a href="https://nas.org.ng/past-presidens/">past president</a> of the <a href="https://nas.org.ng/">Nigerian Academy of Science</a>, the umbrella body of Nigeria’s leading scientists, I offer the following tips for Nigeria’s new president:</p>
<h2>Increase funding for scientific research</h2>
<p>Nigeria has shown a deep neglect of science. Science and technology are seriously underfunded and minimally used in national development. For example oil refineries are shut down and <a href="https://guardian.ng/features/nigeria-not-ready-for-local-vaccine-manufacture-two-years-after-covid-19/">Nigeria cannot produce vaccines locally</a>, having stopped in <a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/06/15/ray-of-light-as-nigeria-commences-local-vaccines-production/">1991</a>.</p>
<p>The first time Nigeria had a Ministry of Science and Technology <a href="https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:33035/#:%7E:text=Nigeria's%20Federal%20Ministry%20of%20Science,developed%20nations%20of%20the%20world%E2%80%9D.">was in 1980</a>, 20 years after independence. The first national science and technology policy was <a href="https://www.osgf.gov.ng/resources/policies/science-and-technology#:%7E:text=The%20first%20National%20Science%20and,of%20life%20for%20the%20people.">produced in 1986</a>, six years later.</p>
<p>During the first 20 years of the ministry, it had 10 ministers, each with a different agenda and policy. </p>
<p>Nigeria’s first real attempt at funding public research <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/442334a">was in 2006</a>, when the government planned to create a US$5 billion endowment fund for science and technology. But the political will to do this wilted in the face of a lack of commitment of funds to execute the proposal. Since then, funding science and research in Nigeria has been as erratic and unpredictable as the political changes.</p>
<p>An attempt was made in 2012 <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201202211496.html">to revive the fund</a> with an independent board, headed by President Goodluck Jonathan himself. But when he left office in 2015 there was still no fund. </p>
<p><a href="https://guardian.ng/features/fg-sets-up-n3bn-national-research-fund/">In 2016</a>, the federal government announced a N3 billion (US$6.5 million) National Research Fund. A committee to manage it was only set up 17 months later. </p>
<p>Despite the promise of the Buhari government in 2021 to dedicate <a href="https://von.gov.ng/nigeria-to-spend-0-5-of-gdp-on-research/">0.5% of GDP to research and innovation</a>, the budgetary allocation to the relevant ministry remained abysmally low at <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1345422/gross-domestic-expenditure-on-randd-as-percentage-of-gdp-in-nigeria/">0.14% of GDP in 2022</a>. This was about the same level for the previous years - 0.13% and 0.14% for 2020 and 2021.</p>
<p>If Nigeria is to benefit from science and research, and harness technology and innovation to transform the economy and improve the social well-being of citizens, then the country must stop playing lip service to funding science and research activities.</p>
<p>The new government must rapidly harness science, technology and innovation as tools for national development. For example, the country could benefit from the development of solar energy to improve and stabilise the erratic electric supply, and from genomic studies to develop new therapeutics and vaccines for improved health and increased animal production. </p>
<p>Nigeria must increase the budgetary allocation to fund science and research annually from the current 0.14% of GDP to at least 1% in the next four years.</p>
<p>It must also expand the scope and funding capacity of the <a href="https://tetfund.gov.ng/">Tertiary Education Trust Fund</a> to sustainably fund long term interdisciplinary research directed at solving Nigeria’s health, environment and other developmental challenges.</p>
<p>The new president must also see to it that the proposal to establish the Nigeria National Research and Development Foundation is realised before the end of his first year in office. Not much has been heard about this proposal lately.</p>
<h2>Retain the capacity that’s built</h2>
<p>The new president must recognise the need to prioritise capacity retention over capacity building. This should be through creating and sustaining a scientific and research environment that enables our highly trained workforce to conduct research activities productively and with relevance. </p>
<p>Too many of Nigeria’s scientists leave the country because of lack of employment opportunities, socio-cultural issues, poor remuneration and non-attainment of professional fulfilment. For instance, nine out of 10 medical and dental consultants with less than five years of experience planned to leave Nigeria <a href="https://punchng.com/9-of-10-medical-consultants-leaving-nigeria-mdcan/#:%7E:text=The%20statement%20read%20in%20part,countries%20over%20the%20preceding%20two">as at December 2022</a>. Similarly, <a href="https://punchng.com/57000-nurses-left-nigeria-in-five-years-nannm/#:%7E:text=Kindly%20share%20this%20story%3A,spanning%20from%202017%20to%202022.">57,000 nurses left Nigeria between 2017 and 2022</a> leaving a ratio of one nurse to 1,660 patients, based on the population. <a href="https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/japa-thousands-of-nigerians-are-leaving-the-country-and-many-more-plan-to-quit-jobs/s67pssr">Software engineers</a> are leaving too. </p>
<p>The research environment can be improved through easier access to foreign exchange and reduced importation charges for imported research equipment, supplies and reagents. Research also requires a stable electricity supply. Electricity production in Nigeria <a href="https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/nigeria/electricity-production#:%7E:text=Electricity%20Production%20in%20Nigeria%20reached,Mar%202005%20to%20Jun%202022.">reached</a> 7,637 GWh in June 2022, for a population of <a href="https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/nigeria/electricity-production#:%7E:text=Electricity%20Production%20in%20Nigeria%20reached,Mar%202005%20to%20Jun%202022.">219 million</a>. For comparison, South Africa’s <a href="https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/south-africa/electricity-production#:%7E:text=Electricity%20Production%20in%20South%20Africa,Jan%201985%20to%20Dec%202022.">electricity production </a> reached 17,536 GWh in December 2022, for a population of <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/south-africa-population/#:%7E:text=The%20current%20population%20of%20South,year%20according%20to%20UN%20data.">61 million</a>. </p>
<h2>Appoint a chief scientific adviser</h2>
<p>As a matter of urgency, the president must appoint a chief scientific adviser charged with coordinating all science and research activities for the economic development of the country and social well-being of citizens. </p>
<p>Currently, science and research activities are scattered among different ministries and parastatals working in silos, carrying out uncoordinated work of little relevance to national development. The adviser to the president would assist in bringing all these together to ensure relevant focus and to reduce duplication and wastage of resources.</p>
<h2>Start producing vaccines locally</h2>
<p>The new president must consider local vaccine production as a national health security issue. He must ensure local vaccine production begins within the first two years in office. This will reduce costly dependence on foreigners for the country’s vaccine needs and safeguard national health security. Currently Nigeria produces no vaccines but a production plant <a href="https://guardian.ng/news/nigerias-vaccine-production-plant-ready-in-2024/">is scheduled to commence production in 2024</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-it-will-take-to-produce-vaccines-in-nigeria-moneys-just-the-first-step-153497">What it will take to produce vaccines in Nigeria: money's just the first step</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Oyewale Tomori does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Here’s what Nigeria’s new president should do to elevate science in the country.Oyewale Tomori, Fellow, Nigerian Academy of ScienceLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1977002023-02-12T08:35:46Z2023-02-12T08:35:46ZAfrican researchers are ready to share more work openly – now policy must make it possible<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507351/original/file-20230131-18-hj5vp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some African countries are already doing well in open research. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dick Klaisataporn/Getty Images </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Librarians are the curators of creativity. They collect success stories and share it with the world. Traditionally, the success was from published authors, which libraries shared with the local community. More recently, the model has been flipped: libraries have started to collect from the local community to share with everyone. </p>
<p>In academic libraries, this is best seen in the work of repository librarians. They collect not only the published output of researchers but also all the digital ephemera that might be created through the research process: the data, the software, the code.</p>
<p>The movement that makes all the ingredients of a research project available on the internet, with as little restriction as possible, has been termed “Open Research” or “Open Science”. This umbrella term includes open access, open data and open methods, to name a few.</p>
<p>The work involved in open science pulls in researchers, librarians, funders, policymakers and the public. Its benefits flow back to the librarians too. Some of the benefits include trust, greater access to research and more collaboration among researchers.</p>
<p>Adoption is steadily under way, <a href="https://roarmap.eprints.org/">evidenced</a> by the number of open access policies, the growth of <a href="https://roarmap.eprints.org/">open science standards and policies</a> or the <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=open%20science">number of times it has been searched in Google over the past few years</a>, but Africa has been slower to take up the change. A change on such a large scale requires that certain things are in place: policies, willingness to implement them, and the infrastructure to make implementation possible.</p>
<p>We undertook a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frma.2022.950212/full">two-part study</a> to understand the root of Africa’s slow uptake of open science practices.</p>
<h2>Positive attitudes</h2>
<p>Firstly, using the data from the <a href="https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4046897.v6">State of Open Data surveys</a>, we <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frma.2022.950212/full">looked</a> at how researchers who self-identify as African think about open data. We discovered that there was not much of a difference in attitude between African researchers and their counterparts in other countries. </p>
<p>The analysis centred on researchers’ attitudes towards three areas:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>sharing their own data</p></li>
<li><p>the shared data of others</p></li>
<li><p>the open data ecosystem in place to enable wider data sharing. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>We found that the attitudes of researchers in 28 countries in Africa had changed over time. They had become more positive about open science, but they were not very different from those of researchers elsewhere.</p>
<p>They all had the same attitudes towards sharing their own data, reusing the shared data of others and the general open data ecosystem. All were in an upward trend over time. Motivations and fears were much the same too. It’s likely that the lack of difference is due, in part, to the fact that academics regularly interact with each other through conferences and other research opportunities.</p>
<p>The African researchers’ attitudes towards open science indicate they are ready for policy that enables open science practices. But what about the policy makers?</p>
<h2>Policy readiness</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frma.2022.950139/full">Our second study</a>, a systematic review, found there was no shortage of examples of open science policies, nor was there a lack of implementation frameworks that could guide African open science stakeholders to develop their own policies, that would set out the open science intent and delineate the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders and researchers.</p>
<p>Some African countries are already doing well in open science. <a href="http://repository.biust.ac.bw/bitstream/handle/123456789/134/Ntlotlang_EDT%202019.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">Botswana</a> is one; stakeholders are working on a national policy to support open data activities. Botswana shows that all stakeholders must be included in policy development. Another is <a href="https://www.nrf.ac.za/african-open-science-platform-aosp-new-nrf-appointments/">South Africa</a>. The country’s National Research Foundation is working towards an African open science platform. This is a collaboration of several national and international entities.</p>
<p>However, the lack of policy synergies appears to be holding back the African open science environment. Other researchers have <a href="https://idl-bnc-idrc.dspacedirect.org/handle/10625/59544">put it like this</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>African science systems largely operate independently of each other, creating silos of incompatible policies, practices and data sets that are not mutually consistent or inter-operable. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3442188.3445897">study</a> confirmed this. Without policy clarity, there is no impetus to invest in the technology and infrastructure to support open science. Creating confusion is the tension between various stakeholders, some on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811921003189">ethical grounds</a> and others on <a href="https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/how-will-open-science-impact-on-university-industry-collaboration">commercial foundations</a>. </p>
<h2>Benefits of open research</h2>
<p>Many stakeholders – <a href="https://www.coalition-s.org/">funders</a>, <a href="https://www.eifl.net/news/first-open-science-policy-adopted-congo">institutions</a>, <a href="https://www.nrf.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AOSP-Strategy-HR.pdf">governments</a>, and <a href="https://openresearchafrica.org/">publishers</a> – are encouraging researchers to work as openly as possible, because of the benefits it brings. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>trust</p></li>
<li><p>accessibility</p></li>
<li><p>collaboration</p></li>
<li><p>replication of findings</p></li>
<li><p>cost effectiveness.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The transparency of sharing the detail of the research builds trust in that research process, as others can review and verify the findings.</p>
<p>Removing paywalls equates to greater accessibility, particularly for those who are under-resourced. </p>
<p>With fewer restrictions comes the opportunity for improved collaboration among scientists, and between scientists and the public.</p>
<p>Sharing the fine details of the research process enhances replication, allowing others to build upon the existing science and make findings in less time.</p>
<p>Funders need not pay for the collection of the same data or the development of a method. Because much research is publicly funded, this translates to better use of tax money.</p>
<p>These benefits add up to a greater chance that the research will have a positive impact.</p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>Librarians like us are already smoothing the way to open science, despite the lack of infrastructure and policy support. We have simply been doing what those in our profession have always done: widening access to information. </p>
<p>Librarians have always worked in the midst of fractious stakeholders, from governments and publishers to funders and communities, finding creative solutions to new problems. Would you expect anything less from the curators of creativity?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197700/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elisha Chiware receives funding from Cape Peninsula University of Technology. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lara Skelly does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Africa has been slow in embracing Open Science.Lara Skelly, Open Research Manager: Data & Methods, Loughborough UniversityElisha Chiware, Library Director and Associate Professor, Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1918102022-11-08T14:29:45Z2022-11-08T14:29:45ZClimate change means farmers in West Africa need more ways to combat pests<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493863/original/file-20221107-22-xs2q6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Farmer preparing bean bags at a market in northern Nigeria.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Jorge Fernández/LightRocket via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The link between climate change and the spread of crop pests has been established by <a href="https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb4769en">research</a> and evidence. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCCSM-06-2021-0059/full/pdf?title=rice-farmers-perceptions-and-response-to-climate-variability-and-determinants-of-adaptation-strategies-in-the-republic-of-benin;https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ijbcs/article/view/92435;">Farmers</a> are noticing the link themselves, alongside higher temperatures and greater variability in rainfall. All these changes are having an impact on harvests across Africa. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/what-a-warmer-wetter-world-means-for-insects-and-for-what-they-eat-166509">Changing conditions</a> sometimes allow insects and diseases to spread and thrive in new places. The threat is greatest when there are no natural predators to keep pests in check, and when human control strategies are limited to the use of unsuitable synthetic insecticides. </p>
<p>Invasive pests can take hold in a new environment and cause very costly damage before national authorities and researchers are able to devise and fund ways to protect crops, harvests and livelihoods.</p>
<p>Early research into biological control methods (use of other organisms to control pests) shows promise for safeguarding harvests and food security. Rapid climate change, however, means researchers are racing against time to develop the full range of tools needed for a growing threat.</p>
<p>The most notable of recent invasive pests to arrive in Africa was the fall armyworm, which spread to the continent from the Americas in 2016. </p>
<p>Since then, 78 countries have reported the caterpillar, which attacks a range of crops including staples like maize and has caused an estimated <a href="https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/fao-global-action-for-fall-armyworm-control-extended-to-end-of-2023-with-broader-scope/en">US$9.4 billion</a> in losses a year.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/exploring-the-best-tactics-to-combat-fall-armyworm-outbreaks-in-africa-95451">Exploring the best tactics to combat fall armyworm outbreaks in Africa</a>
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<p>African farmers are still struggling to contain the larger grain borer, or <em>Prostephanus truncatus</em> Horn, which reached the continent in the 1970s. It can destroy up to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022474X21000990">40%</a> of stored maize in just four months. In Benin, it is a particular threat to cassava chips, and can cause losses of up to <a href="https://ejbpc.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41938-020-00240-1">50%</a> in three months.</p>
<p>It’s expected that the larger grain borer will continue to spread as climatic conditions become more favourable. African countries urgently need more support and research into different control strategies, including the use of natural enemies, varietal resistance and biopesticides. </p>
<p>My <a href="https://ejbpc.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41938-020-00240-1">research work</a> is at the interface between plants, insects and genetics. It’s intended to contribute to more productive agriculture that respects the environment and human health by controlling insect pests with innovative biological methods. </p>
<p>For example, we have demonstrated that a species of insect called <em>Alloeocranum biannulipes</em> Montr. and Sign. eats some crop pests. Certain kinds of fungi (<em>Metarhizium anisopliae</em> and <em>Beauveria bassiana</em>), too, can kill these pests. They are potential biological control agents of the larger grain borer and other pests. </p>
<p>Improved pest control is especially important for women farmers, who make up a significant share of the agricultural workforce. </p>
<p>In Benin, for example, around <a href="https://medcraveonline.com/HIJ/women-and-market-garden-production-in-benin-republic.html">70%</a> of production is carried out by women, yet <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.LITR.FE.ZS?locations=BJ">high rates of illiteracy</a> mean many are unable to read the labels of synthetic pesticides. </p>
<p>This can result in misuse or overuse of chemical crop protection products, which poses a risk to the health of the farmers applying the product and a risk of environmental pollution. </p>
<p>Moreover, the unsuitable and intensive use of synthetic insecticides could lead to the development of insecticide resistance and a proliferation of resistant insects. </p>
<h2>Biological alternatives to the rescue</h2>
<p>Various studies have shown that the use of the following biological alternatives would not only benefit food security but would also help farmers who have limited formal education: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Natural predators like other insects can be effective in controlling pests. For example I found that <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ee/article/46/1/84/2726316;">the predator <em>Alloeocranum biannulipes</em> Montr. and Sign.</a> is an effective biological control agent against a beetle called <em>Dinoderus porcellus</em> Lesne in stored yam chips and the larger grain borer in stored cassava chips. Under farm storage conditions, the release of this predator in infested yam chips <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S104996441830673X">significantly reduced</a> the numbers of pests and the weight loss. In Benin, yams are a staple food and important cash crop. The tubers are dried into chips to prevent them from rotting.</p></li>
<li><p>Strains of fungi such as <em>Metarhizium anisopliae</em> and <em>Beauveria bassiana</em> also showed their effectiveness as biological control agents against some pests. For example, isolate Bb115 of <em>B. bassiana</em> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1226861522000188">significantly reduced</a> <em>D. porcellus</em> populations and weight loss of yam chips. The fungus also <a href="https://ejbpc.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41938-021-00431-4">had an effect</a> on the survival of an insect species, <em>Helicoverpa armigera</em> (Hübner), known as the cotton bollworm. It did this by invading the tissues of crop plants that the insect larva eats. The larvae then ate less of those plants. </p></li>
<li><p>The use of <a href="https://ipmworld.umn.edu/silva-aguayo-botanical">botanical extracts and powdered plant parts</a> is another biological alternative to the use of harmful synthetic pesticides. For example, I found that botanical extracts of plants grown in Benin, <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2017/5468202/"><em>Bridelia ferruginea</em>, <em>Blighia sapida</em> and <em>Khaya senegalensis</em></a>, have insecticidal, repellent and antifeedant activities against <em>D. porcellus</em> and can also be used in powder form to protect yam chips. </p></li>
<li><p>My <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42690-020-00235-3">research</a> also found that essential oils of <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42690-020-00235-3">certain leaves</a> can be used as a <a href="https://academicjournals.org/journal/JSPPR/article-abstract/D6E83A567285">natural way</a> to stop <em>D. porcellus</em> feeding on yam chips. </p></li>
<li><p>I’ve done research on <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311932.2017.1411180">varietal (genetic) resistance</a> too and found five varieties of yam (Gaboubaba, Boniwouré, Alahina, Yakanougo and Wonmangou) were resistant to the <em>D. porcellus</em> beetle. </p></li>
</ol>
<h2>Next generation tools</h2>
<p>To develop efficient <a href="https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/68522">integrated pest management</a> strategies, researchers need support and funding. They need to test these potential biocontrol methods and their combinations with other eco-friendly methods in farm conditions. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-perfect-solution-africas-smallholder-farmers-must-use-both-traditional-and-new-practices-173332">No perfect solution: Africa's smallholder farmers must use both traditional and new practices</a>
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<p>Investing in further research would help to bolster the <a href="https://www.cabi.org/wp-content/uploads/Strategy-for-Managing-Invasive-Species-in-Africa-20212030FINAL.pdf">African Union’s 2021–2030 Strategy for Managing Invasive Species</a>, and protect farmers, countries and economies from more devastating losses as climate change brings new threats.</p>
<p>Initiatives like the <a href="https://awardfellowships.org/the-one-planet-fellowship/">One Planet Fellowship</a>, coordinated by African Women in Agricultural Research and Development, have helped further the research and leadership of early-career scientists in this area, where climate and gender overlap.</p>
<p>But much more is needed to unlock the full expertise of women and men across the continent to equip farmers with next generation tools for next generation threats.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191810/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Loko Yêyinou Laura Estelle receives funding from The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), International Foundation of Sciences (IFS), and the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD). </span></em></p>The impact of climate change on the spread of crop pests is established. Biological control methods show some promise but the pace of climate change means scientists are in a race against time.Loko Yêyinou Laura Estelle, Professor of Zoology and Genetics, National University of Sciences, Technologies, Engineering and Mathematics Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1932332022-10-30T10:52:33Z2022-10-30T10:52:33ZVaccines could be a game-changer in the fight against malaria in Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491862/original/file-20221026-13-1efpnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The first malaria vaccine, Mosquirix, was approved by the WHO in 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brian Ongoro/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The development of an effective vaccine for malaria has proved to be far more challenging than developing a vaccine to protect people from COVID-19. Several different COVID-19 vaccines were <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/overview-COVID-19-vaccines.html">developed and approved</a> for use within a year of the disease’s emergence. </p>
<p>In contrast, it took over 30 years of intensive research and numerous clinical trials by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and partners before the <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/06-10-2021-who-recommends-groundbreaking-malaria-vaccine-for-children-at-risk">first malaria vaccine</a>, Mosquirix, was approved for use by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2021. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/malaria-vaccine-is-a-major-leap-forward-but-innovation-mustnt-stop-here-169639">Malaria vaccine is a major leap forward: but innovation mustn't stop here</a>
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<p>Creating a vaccine for a vector-borne disease such as malaria is very challenging. The parasite takes on <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/oxford-malaria-vaccine-promising-results-in-trials/a-63065352">different forms in different hosts</a>. And it’s constantly evolving to evade the human immune system and control interventions.</p>
<p>In a major step towards the equitable roll-out of Mosquirix, the WHO awarded the vaccine <a href="https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-releases/who-grants-prequalification-to-gsk-s-mosquirix-the-first-and-only-approved-malaria-vaccine/">prequalification status</a> in September 2022. The prequalification step follows approval. It ensures that only good quality products are procured and distributed by United Nations agencies and other major donors. </p>
<p>Most recently, researchers from Burkina Faso and Oxford University’s Jenner Institute – the same institution that developed the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine – made their own revelation. They <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-62797776">released</a> very encouraging data from a clinical trial assessing the novel R21 malaria vaccine. </p>
<p>Like Mosquirix, the R21 vaccine targets the sporozoite. This is the malaria parasite stage that is transferred to humans when the malaria-infected female Anopheles mosquito is taking a blood meal. When effective, both vaccines ensure that the sporozoites are destroyed before they enter the liver. It effectively prevents malaria infection by halting the parasite life cycle in the human host.</p>
<p>The fight against malaria has been significantly strengthened with the addition of malaria vaccines to the suite of prevention measures. These vaccines have the potential to reduce malaria-related illness and and death in children under the age of five – one of the populations currently <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria">most affected by malaria</a>. </p>
<h2>What studies show</h2>
<p>Both vaccines – Mosquirix and R21 – target the same parasite stage and use the same malaria proteins. But Oxford’s R21 vaccine contains a higher number of these malaria proteins. And it uses a different adjuvant – a chemical substance that stimulates the body’s immune response. These two factors are thought to improve the efficacy of the R21 vaccine by causing a stronger immune response. </p>
<p>The preliminary data are drawn from a <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(22)00442-X/fulltext">two-year study</a> involving 409 children aged five to 17 months. The children received a booster dose 12 months after receiving the first three doses of the vaccine. The data suggest that the R21 vaccine resulted in a <a href="https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/oxford-malaria-vaccine-data-bodes-well-for-effort-to-combat-deadly-disease/">higher level of protection</a> than Mosquirix. </p>
<p>Eight out of every 10 children who received four doses of the R21 vaccine did not develop malaria over the trial period – making this malaria vaccine the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2022-09-08-malaria-booster-vaccine-continues-meet-who-specified-75-efficacy-goal">first to meet the WHO minimum efficacy target</a> of 75% for 12 months in the target population of young African children.</p>
<p>These study results are encouraging. </p>
<p>But researchers have cautioned against a direct comparison between the performance of the R21 and Mosquirix vaccines. Unlike the Mosquirix vaccine, the R21 vaccine was given to children before the start of the malaria season. And it was only <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/malaria-new-vaccine-candidate-shows-promise-in-clinical-trials#Plans-for-a-phase-3-trial">tested</a> on a small number of children from one region in Burkina Faso. In addition, a number of control and prevention measures were in place. </p>
<p>A larger study is needed to confirm vaccine efficacy in African children across the continent. This study must be done in regions with differing malaria transmission intensities, differing levels of malnutrition and anaemia in the target populations, and varying coverage of control interventions. </p>
<p>Four thousand eight hundred children from four African countries – two of which have malaria transmission all year round – have been enrolled in a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02902-6">phase 3 clinical trial</a>. The aim of this trial is to demonstrate vaccine safety and efficacy in a larger, more diverse group of children. The researchers from the Jenner Institute expect the R21 vaccine to be approved for use next year, as long as no unexpected safety concerns are raised in this larger trial.</p>
<p>Manufacturing and distribution bottlenecks <a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/health/new-data-illuminates-acute-vaccine-supply-delivery-gaps-developing-countries">prevented</a> the timely and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. To avoid a repeat, the University of Oxford has signed a manufacturing agreement with the Serum Institute of India, the largest manufacturer of vaccines globally. Under this agreement, the Serum Institute has agreed to supply at least 200 million doses annually. This is significantly more than the 15 million to 18 million doses of Mosquirix that GlaxoSmithKline is contracted to produce every year <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/oxford-malaria-vaccine-data-bodes-well-effort-combat-deadly-disease-2022-09-07/">until 2028</a>.</p>
<p>But, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/why-worlds-first-malaria-shot-wont-reach-millions-children-who-need-it-2022-07-13/">the WHO</a>, this quantity is far lower than the projected demand for vaccines. To increase manufacturing capacity, the Jenner Institute is in talks with African vaccine manufacturers.</p>
<h2>Moving forward</h2>
<p>Getting the vaccines manufactured is only the first step. </p>
<p>Other hurdles include ensuring that countries can procure the vaccines, that there is equitable delivery of the vaccines to the requesting countries, and that there is prompt vaccines distribution to all healthcare facilities within the malaria risk areas. And most importantly, that there is optimal uptake of the vaccines.</p>
<p>Misinformation, <a href="https://www.phillyvoice.com/covid-19-vaccine-hesitancy-parents-children/">vaccine hesitancy</a> and safety concerns have contributed to a lower rate of vaccination against COVID-19, particularly among children. </p>
<p>For a malaria vaccine to have an impact, health promotion is key. Awareness campaigns must address safety concerns, while emphasising expected positive impacts of the vaccine. These campaigns must target both healthcare professionals and affected communities. They must be delivered before and during vaccine roll-out to ensure any new misinformation or concerns are promptly and effectively addressed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193233/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jaishree Raman is affiliated with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, the Wits Research Institute for Malaria and University of Pretoria's Institute for Sustainable Malaria Control and receives funding from the South African Research Trust, the Gates Foundation, the Global Fund, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the South African Medical Research Council, and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.</span></em></p>For a malaria vaccine to have an impact, health promotion is key. Awareness campaigns must address safety concerns and emphasise expected positive impacts.Jaishree Raman, Principal Medical Scientist and Head of Laboratory for Antimalarial Resistance Monitoring and Malaria Operational Research, National Institute for Communicable DiseasesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1920282022-10-09T07:39:22Z2022-10-09T07:39:22ZNigeria’s missing virus hunters: university decline robs country of virologists<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488727/original/file-20221007-26-y700xw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Nigeria’s university system witnessed its <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1166618#metadata_info_tab_contents">golden era</a> between the 1950s and 1980s. It produced globally <a href="https://theconversation.com/akin-mabogunje-nigerian-urban-geographer-who-mapped-the-origin-and-trends-of-african-cities-190378">celebrated academics </a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/david-olufemi-olaleye-erudite-virologist-excellent-mentor-and-academic-giant-166199">virologists</a>. But the story has changed. Under funding of the university system, inadequate support for research and lack of commitment to the development of science and technology by the government are robbing the nation of quality academics. Virologists are among them. Renowned virologist, Oyewale Tomori, who graduated in the 1970s, sets out how it was then, why the country is where it is now and what it can do to restore its lost glory in science and technology education.</em></p>
<hr>
<h2>What’s the history of training virologists in Nigeria?</h2>
<p>Although modern virology began with the discovery between 1915 and 1917 of bacteriophages (that is, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2018.12.003&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart">viruses that infect bacteria </a>, virology only became a discipline on its own in the last 50 years. </p>
<p>The discipline can be divided into the biology of viruses (molecular biology and biochemistry) and viral diseases (physiology, epidemiology, and clinical aspects of virus diseases). One branch deals with the study of the nature and properties of the virus, while the second is focused on the diseases caused by viruses and the interplay of the factors (human, animal, virus and the environment) that result in the emergence and reemergence of viral diseases. </p>
<p>Today, a thorough study of virology encompasses the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/index.html#:%7E:text=One%20Health%20is%20a%20collaborative,plants%2C%20and%20their%20shared%20environment">One Health concept</a>. This takes into account the interactions between humans and animals and the environment.</p>
<p>The first set of Nigerian virologists was trained outside the country. Local training of virologists started in the early 1970s, at the University of Ibadan. It was the sole training centre for virologists until the late 1990s. </p>
<p>Today, <a href="https://punchng.com/nigeria-has-only-200-virologists-expert-laments/">there are about 200 virologists in Nigeria</a>. Is this number enough?</p>
<p>Answering the question isn’t the same as measuring, for example, the ideal “doctor to patient” ratio. This is because virologists are researchers, so the headline number isn’t the main issue. Rather it’s whether those trained as virologists are functioning effectively and maximally. </p>
<p>Suffice to say that Nigeria needs more virologists given the size of the country, and the number of endemic viral infections prevalent in it. Annually, the country reports severe outbreaks of virus diseases, such as Lassa Fever, yellow fever and measles.</p>
<p>You need virolgists to be ahead of the emergence of viral disease outbreaks. </p>
<p>But the high cost of equipment and reagents, as well as other facilities for conducting virus studies have limited the output of trained virologists by the Nigerian university system. </p>
<p>Currently, the country has more virologists specialising as molecular virologists, rather than experts on the epidemiology and clinical aspects of viral diseases. And poor collaboration between laboratory scientists, epidemiologists and clinicians has robbed Nigeria of getting the needed balance between molecular virologists and those studying viral diseases. There is a disconnect between the study of viruses and the diseases they cause. We have expert virologists with little knowledge of how to control the diseases caused by viruses. </p>
<p>Virologists who will be relevant and contribute to improving the health of the society, must use their knowledge and expertise to prevent and control viral disease, otherwise they become a precious ornament of little use to someone dying of a viral disease. </p>
<p>Nigeria, a disease ridden society, has no place for virologists who discover a virus but can’t decipher what it does. Or are unable to use their knowledge to mitigate the devastation of a viral disease outbreak. </p>
<h2>What’s different now in the training of virologists?</h2>
<p>When I trained as a virologist at the University of Ibadan in South West Nigeria, the training was comprehensive. It involved both broad-based field work as well as laboratory investigation. </p>
<p>In the past, in addition to employing available techniques (antigen-antibody studies and animal experimentation) to identify and classify viruses, a detailed epidemiological study of the diseases caused by the virus was also carried out. </p>
<p>This was a One Health concept that considered the pathogen, the person, the animal, and the environment in the study of viruses and the diseases they cause. This provided information needed for the control and prevention of the disease. </p>
<p>Today, the focus is principally on studying and dissecting the virus, using more modern and highly sophisticated techniques, like <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/genome-sequencing">genomic sequencing</a>. </p>
<p>A host of hurdles stand in the way of building a bigger cohort of virologists in Nigeria.</p>
<p>Firstly, the lack of modern facilities in laboratories and the poor state of basic infrastructure and other resources (such as electricity and reagents) are working against research development. You cannot run genetic sequencing or even sterilise your equipment using a candle as your source of power.</p>
<p>Secondly, budgetary allocation to education is generally poor – at all levels, including the secondary school system. </p>
<p>Thirdly, and unfortunately, the <a href="https://guardian.ng/features/despite-tetfund-intervention-research-in-tertiary-institutions-still-poor-experts-say/">Nigerian government is not committed to funding research</a>. Financial support for science and research remains pathetic. This has led to the deterioration in the quantity and quality of trained virologists at Nigeria’s universities. The oases of excellence in the Nigerian desert of research landscape are largely funded by grants from external bodies and agencies. </p>
<p>But for how long are you going to depend on external grants to fund your research and development? It is like Africa whining and crying for equity when, for example, COVID-19 vaccines were not available for our populations. You do not beg for equity, you fight for it. You use your resources responsibly to contribute to equity, and not just be a consumer of the crumbs of equity.</p>
<p>On top of this, we have corruption and examination malpractices undermining the very foundation of integrity and probity, the pillars on which science and research stand. Consequently, our university system is neither able to retain responsible academics, nor attract the right kind of prospective students imbued with responsibility. </p>
<p>Add to these hurdles the lack of interest of many students in science and technological education. </p>
<h2>What’s missing?</h2>
<p>Sustained funding, infrastructure, facilities (regular power supply), and national government support for and sustained commitment to research. </p>
<p>There is a general national disdain for science and technology. There is also a national failure to fully recognise that science and technology are needed for the socio-economic transformation of Nigeria.</p>
<p>The government should invest in science, technology, research and development. </p>
<h2>How has this affected Nigeria’s ability to produce cutting-edge research?</h2>
<p>Adversely. </p>
<p>We are a nation consuming other countries’ returns on investment in science, research and technology. Rather than investing in research and contributing to global development through science and research, we have resorted to begging for the crumbs of equity. </p>
<p>We are only ready to consume other people’s returns on investments on science and research. </p>
<h2>What needs to be done?</h2>
<p>Go back to basics. Invest in research, science and technology. </p>
<p>Nigeria should create an enabling environment for scientists to function effectively and maximally. The nation should commit to using research outcomes in science and technology as the medium for transforming our society to a developed nation. If Nigeria refuses to fund research especially in science and technology, we will remain at the blunt-edge, rather than the cutting-edge of research, science and technology. We will not have the body of knowledge that can help us to address the nation’s health and other challenges.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192028/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Oyewale Tomori does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Financial support for science and research in Nigeria remains pathetic. This has led to the deterioration in the quantity and quality of trained virologists at universities.Oyewale Tomori, Fellow, Nigerian Academy of ScienceLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1914372022-10-04T15:45:35Z2022-10-04T15:45:35ZAfrica in space: continent has a lot to gain, but proper plans must be put in place<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487996/original/file-20221004-13-j1icvs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> iStock / Getty Images Plus</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Every year in October nearly 100 countries organise activities to mark <a href="https://www.worldspaceweek.org/">World Space Week</a>. The theme this year is space and sustainability. In this interview, Adejuwon Soyinka, West Africa regional editor at The Conversation Africa, asks Etim Offiong about how far Africa has come in the space age and what benefits the continent stands to gain from its investment in space technology.</em></p>
<h2>Russia’s Sputnik kicked off the space age in 1957. But Africa didn’t join until 1999. Why?</h2>
<p><a href="https://sputniknews.com/">Sputnik</a> happened partly due to the cold war rivalry between the US and the former Soviet Union. During this period, most African countries were still under colonial rule. Only <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana/Independence">Ghana</a> had gained independence, earlier that year. </p>
<p>Through the colonial systems and structures put in place then, African countries had no control over their natural and human resources. The colonies were made to focus on the labour, raw materials and agricultural crops that were needed by their colonial masters. </p>
<p>They could not pay attention to research and development, particularly in nuclear physics, space and the oceans. Educational systems were also designed to meet the needs of colonial masters. Outer space was, therefore, of little concern to Africa. </p>
<p>Free nations on the other hand could channel their resources into space exploration. </p>
<p>Despite the restrictions and challenges in their home countries, African scientists still made efforts to study and do research in their areas of interest. These were mostly done abroad through scholarships and fellowships. Some of these scientists were interested in understanding phenomena surrounding the Earth and Sun. </p>
<p>At about this time (1957-8), the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/international-geophysical-year">International Geophysical Year</a> provided an opportunity for international research on the science and impact of the Sun-Earth system. The US also placed tracking stations in <a href="https://northpad.ng/nasa-space-station-in-kano/">Nigeria</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/South-African-National-Space-Agency">South Africa</a> to support US space missions. </p>
<p>In that sense, one may say that Africa participated in early space activities. But the activities were not designed to benefit African countries.</p>
<h2>How far would you say Africa has come in the space age?</h2>
<p>As African countries started gaining independence, they could, to some extent, control their human and financial resources. The speech made by Ghana’s <a href="https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Kwame-Nkrumah-s-speech-at-the-founding-of-the-OAU-in-1963-961402">Kwame Nkrumah</a> at the launch of the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/organisation-african-unity-oau">Organisation of African Unity</a> in 1963 highlighted how Africa’s development and prosperity needed science and technology. </p>
<p>But a major leap in space activities started around 1998, with the establishment by the United Nations of <a href="https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/psa/regional-centres/index.html">Regional Centres for Space Science and Technology Education</a> in developing countries. </p>
<p>Two centres were established in Africa: one in Morocco for the French-speaking African countries, and the other in Nigeria for the English-speaking African countries. </p>
<p>At about this time, South Africa was developing what would become Africa’s first indigenously built satellite – <a href="https://dragonflyaerospace.com/inside-sunsat-the-first-ever-south-african-satellite/">Sunsat</a> – which was launched in 1999. </p>
<p>From these early steps, more African nations started developing an interest in space. Those that were already aware of the benefits of space technology in development started seeking means to procure satellites and acquire space-related knowledge. </p>
<p>In addition to national initiatives, there are several externally funded space-related programmes and projects in Africa which have created an inflow of funds, knowledge and infrastructure into the continent. </p>
<p>Furthermore, the <a href="https://africanews.space/african-space-policy-strategy-redefining-satellite-navigation-and-positioning-in-africa/">African Space Policy and Strategy</a> was adopted in 2016. Some African countries have also developed national space policies and strategies. </p>
<p>So, Africa has made some gains, but it could be better.</p>
<h2>How has Africa benefited from investment in space technology?</h2>
<p>There is potential to apply space technology in various areas, including agriculture, transport, urban planning, environmental management, disaster management and natural resource management.</p>
<p>The UN-affiliated regional centres in Morocco and Nigeria have trained several hundred Africans in these areas. </p>
<p>In addition, some African countries have procured small satellites, mostly through the help of academic or commercial institutions abroad. Unfortunately, there has been little or no technology transfer. Similarly, the technology and knowledge from externally funded programmes have yet to be properly internalised, codified and diffused. </p>
<p>Some African countries have commenced academic programmes in areas such as astronomy, remote sensing, space weather, satellite communication, satellite geodesy, satellite meteorology and space law. </p>
<p>The challenge is that there are few jobs for the graduates. Africa eventually loses them to countries where their knowledge and skills are better used. Africa, therefore, needs to be strategic in its engagements and programmes.</p>
<h2>What do African countries need to do to get better at this?</h2>
<p>In my view, it begins with a national space policy and strategy. A national policy states where a country wants to go, the national space strategy states how it will get there. The policy states the vision, overarching goals and guiding principles; the strategy translates these into actions and programmes. </p>
<p>Space policies and strategies are important because they enable predictable positive outcomes for a country, region, or organisation. They lead, guide and guard all stakeholders – government, industry, academia and civil society – towards attaining corporate interests, goals and priorities. </p>
<p>Due to the unique nature of the space domain (scientific, commercial, military and geostrategic interests), developing a space policy and strategy is not as simple as other public policies. </p>
<p>On the flip side, space policy and strategy operate within an international legal regime. There are treaties, principles, norms and guidelines for space activities.</p>
<p>This is where the <a href="https://www.aslispace.org/">African Space Leadership Institute</a> comes in – to develop Africa’s capabilities in space policy, strategy, law and governance. The institute was also established to provide advice and insight on issues in the African national and continental space landscape. All these would be within the frameworks of the African Union’s <a href="https://au.int/en/agenda2063/overview">Agenda 2063</a> and the UN <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">SDGs</a>.</p>
<p>African countries need to be more deliberate in developing space capabilities. A party can only benefit from bilateral or international cooperation if it brings something to the table, knows what it wants to get from the cooperation and negotiates well. </p>
<p>So, quite a lot of strategic foresight is needed in Africa.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191437/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Etim Offiong is co-founder of the African Space Leadership Institute (ASLI).</span></em></p>African countries need to be more deliberate in developing space capabilities.Etim Offiong, Scientific Officer, Obafemi Awolowo UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1884122022-08-16T14:41:17Z2022-08-16T14:41:17ZThe key to treating TB may be in a common carbohydrate. What we know so far<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479161/original/file-20220815-25-i854zg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New remedies are needed as rates of multi-drug resistant TB rise.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jarun Ontakrai/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00289-021-03860-1">Curdlan</a> is a popular carbohydrate in the food industry. Its name is derived from the word “curdle”, and as it suggests, it’s widely used as a thickener and stabiliser in everything from sausages to milk substitutes.</p>
<p>More recently, it has caught the eye of the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8273257/">pharmaceutical industry</a>. That’s because curdlan, itself produced by bacteria, is able to trigger an antibacterial response in a range of environments and organisms. Among other uses, researchers are <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13048-020-00626-7">looking at curdlan</a> as a possible treatment for cancers and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0144861714003828?casa_token=5A9L_uGxF5oAAAAA:56_9Q91nCk3cSJdLaXa0eZPp4iDXAs5b8XUUNQuwfhPdSl5Jg9w2wfxyjejHNCm7V8N5sH4iDrY">other diseases</a>.</p>
<p>One of those diseases is tuberculosis (TB), the infection responsible for <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.02284/full">killing more people</a> than any other infectious disease in human history. <a href="https://www.nicd.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/TB-Prevalence-survey-report_A4_SA_TPS-Short_Feb-2021.pdf">South Africa</a> has one of the world’s highest TB burdens – along with 29 other countries including India and China. These countries contribute 86% of the globe’s <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis#:%7E:text=In%202020%2C%20the%2030%20high,Nigeria%2C%20Bangladesh%20and%20South%20Africa.">10 million annual TB cases</a>. South Africa’s combined burden of TB, TB/HIV and multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB), driven by socioeconomic factors and its high HIV <a href="https://worldhealthorg.shinyapps.io/tb_profiles/?_inputs_&entity_type=%22country%22&lan=%22EN%22&iso2=%22ZA%22">numbers</a>, is especially worrying.</p>
<p>Existing remedies made up of cocktails of antibiotics are not effective against MDR-TB. This has sparked interest in finding alternative treatments. It’s why our research group at the School of Pharmacy at the University of the Western Cape, and others, are beginning to test the efficacy of curdlan as a potential drug candidate. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34534573/">recent paper</a>, for instance, we show very promising results for the potential treatment of TB using curdlan-based nanoparticles.</p>
<h2>How TB infects</h2>
<p>Our work centres on developing host-directed therapies using curdlan. Such treatments essentially let the human <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.02284/full">immune system</a> do the heavy lifting. This is done by activating its natural antibacterial mechanisms while controlling the inflammation that results from such activation. Inflammation is a signal that the immune system is working. But if inflammation is out of control it can cause major damage to human tissue, as seen in severe <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.01446/full#:%7E:text=Accumulating%20evidence%20suggests%20that%20some,%2C%20TNF%2D%CE%B1%2C%20and%20VEGF">COVID-19 infections</a>.</p>
<p>Research has already shown that host-directed therapies hold <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2020.618414/full">immense potential</a> for the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11095-018-2528-9">treatment of TB</a>.</p>
<p>To understand how these therapies work, it’s important to understand how TB infection unfolds in the human body.</p>
<p>Primary TB infection occurs when a person inhales aerosol droplets, released by contagious individuals, that contain <em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</em> (<em>M.tb</em>). This is the bacterium that causes TB. Once inhaled, <em>M.tb</em> quickly makes its way to the lung’s alveolar space, made up of tiny air sacs that sit at the end of the bronchioles, which are the air passages inside the lungs.</p>
<p>Here it is absorbed by what’s known as alveolar macrophages, the lung cells that are usually the first line of defence against pollutants and pathogenic organisms. Typically these macrophages would trigger an immune response in the body. But <em>M.tb</em> has evolved so cannily that it eludes or switches off this immune-triggering response in the macrophages. These alveolar macrophages become its infection headquarters; the bacterium remains concealed within these cells.</p>
<p>For any treatment to be successful, it has to navigate a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2020.618414/full">host of obstacles</a> to reach <em>M.tb</em>. It must make its way through complex lung lesions, then penetrate the cell membrane of macrophages and other host cells, and finally be taken up by the <em>M.tb</em> sitting within these cells.</p>
<p>That’s where nanoparticles enter the picture.</p>
<h2>Tiny ‘snipers’</h2>
<p>Nanoparticles are extremely small. They range from between one to 100 nanometres; for some perspective, there are a million nanometres in a single millimetre. In theory, and as is being shown in <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6528/ac7885/meta?casa_token=FjKJlNwJcFYAAAAA:CzLeHNZ_j9uFpGYgd9UnvJr-RBFnO8NoKhxymb8JcyrujuK0bISE6sP6vEIeYC8NvPcPJkLuIMA">laboratories</a> and existing treatments for other conditions like <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2720743/">cancer</a>, nanotherapies allow drugs to target pathogens with sniper-like accuracy. They also have the potential to tackle patient non-compliance that can lead to drug resistant TB.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4449995/">reasons</a> for non-compliance are varied and complex, but the duration of the therapy itself is a factor. Existing treatments require that, depending on the severity and progress of the disease, patients take many drugs over as many as six months. The <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis">course of treatment</a> for MDR-TB lasts up to 24 months. </p>
<p>This high pill load, together with sometimes toxic side effects, has been shown to overwhelm patients. Many do not return to clinics and hospitals for check-ups, especially when they feel better after a few weeks. Some stop taking their medication. This could be behind the rise of drug resistant strains. Such non-compliance is also believed to be the cause of South Africa’s comparatively <a href="https://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/publication/south-africa-perspective-tuberculosis#:%7E:text=TB%20is%20South%20Africa's%20leading,to%20bring%20it%20under%20control.">high TB mortality</a>.</p>
<p>Traditional drugs are taken orally or intravenously. They travel throughout the body via the blood circulatory system. Many drug molecules do not reach their targets, staying in the body where they cause several negative side effects. That’s where nanoparticle-based treatments have the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1517/17425247.2014.846905">upper hand</a>: they are extremely targeted and their release into the system is very controlled. Smaller doses are required and there is less dispersion around the body, meaning fewer side effects.</p>
<h2>Promising findings</h2>
<p>All these factors suggest that nanoparticle-based treatments may be the right approach to take against TB. And two interesting findings from our study bolster the case.</p>
<p>One, we observed the production of what’s known as pro-inflammation cytokines, a signalling molecule that triggers an antibacterial effect in immune cells. This meant that the nanoparticles were doing what they were meant to do.</p>
<p>Secondly, we found that the <em>M.tb</em> bacteria in the immune cells were considerably reduced over a 72-hour period. </p>
<p>These results suggest that curdlan nanotherapeutics are an avenue worth exploring in treating TB. There is much more work to be done, but it’s an important step towards tackling TB – in South Africa and everywhere else.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188412/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Admire Dube receives funding from the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health (K43TW010371) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (5R01AI152109). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.</span></em></p>As antibiotics lose their power to treat some forms of TB, interest in the antibacterial powers of curdlan is rising.Admire Dube, Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of the Western CapeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1880142022-08-15T14:56:15Z2022-08-15T14:56:15ZAfrican digital innovators are turning plastic waste into value – but there are gaps<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478522/original/file-20220810-15-j2s91z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Plastic waste in Kampala, Uganda. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/plastic-wastes-are-seen-in-kampala-uganda-on-march-10-2022-news-photo/1239258007?adppopup=true">Omer Faruk Ozbil/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Plastic pollution is a growing global menace. Between 2010 and 2020, the global production of plastics <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/282732/global-production-of-plastics-since-1950/">increased</a> from 270 million tonnes to 367 million tonnes. Every year, <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1260352">more than 12 million tonnes of plastics</a> end up in the world’s oceans, with severe consequences for marine life. When macro plastics degrade into micro-plastics, they easily contaminate the food chain and pose significant threats to human health via <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378512218303505">inhalation and ingestion</a>. </p>
<p>By 2030, plastic waste is <a href="https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy-in-africa-plastics">expected to double</a> to 165 million tonnes in African countries. Most of this will be in Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.</p>
<p>A significant proportion of <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/29/opinions/by-exporting-trash-rich-countries-put-their-waste-out-of-sight-and-out-of-mind-varkkey/index.html">the plastic that ends up on African shores</a> is produced in developed, industrialised countries. By 2010, it was estimated that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X17305286">close to 4.4 million tonnes</a> of mismanaged plastic waste was in oceans and seas off the coast of Africa every year. A <a href="https://www.wwfkenya.org/?233390/Plastic-Pollution-in-Africa-Identifying-Policy-Gaps-and-Opportunities">2022 estimate</a> has put this number at 17 million tonnes.</p>
<p>Growing numbers of NGOs and innovators across the continent are responding to the challenge. They are <a href="https://www.digitaltimes.africa/afri-plastics-challenge-reveals-wealth-of-african-innovation/#">developing digital solutions</a> to reduce plastic waste generation, and promoting reuse and recyling of plastic products. Increasingly, African tech hubs are incorporating environmental sustainability in their <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09537325.2021.1947492">business models</a>. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23322373.2021.1999750">our recent paper</a>, we highlight ongoing efforts and innovations in what is called the plastic value chain. This comprises four phases, from the design of plastic products to manufacture, use, and end of life.</p>
<p>We found a number of initiatives that are transforming the plastic value chain into a smart, innovative and sustainable network. Most aim to improve plastic identification, collection, transport, sorting, processing and reuse. Some focus on the earlier phases: design and production of plastic products. </p>
<p>A whole value chain approach to the circular plastic economy is very important. While the majority of plastic waste management activities tend to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479721020375">focus on the use and end-of-life phases</a>, more attention needs to be given to <a href="https://oceanfdn.org/initiatives/redesigning-plastics-initiative/">design</a> and manufacture. This is where the problem of plastic waste begins. </p>
<p>Worldwide, attention is turning to designing simpler and standardised products that are easier to recyle and <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/how-reduce-impacts-single-use-plastic-products">reuse</a>.</p>
<h2>Innovators cracking the code</h2>
<p>A Nigerian software company, <a href="https://www.wecyclers.com/">Wecyclers</a>, operates a rewards-for-recycling platform. It offers incentives to individuals and households in low-income communities to make money and capture value from recyclable plastic waste. </p>
<p>Via the platform, waste collectors are connected to a fleet of locally assembled waste cargo vehicles. They use these to collect waste from subscribing households. These households are also rewarded according to the quantity of waste collected from them. </p>
<p>The collected waste is deposited in designated locations in the Lagos metropolis, to be collected in bulk by recyclers. This provides materials to manufacturers who turn it into new items like tissue paper, stuffing for bedding, plastic furniture, aluminium sheets and nylon bags.</p>
<p>The impact is significant on many levels. Firstly, by linking waste generating households with waste collectors in their neighbourhoods, the Wecycler model simplifies the logistics of collection and sorting at source, at practically no cost to households. Secondly, it enables households not only to mitigate the public health risks associated with plastic waste accumulation and mismanagement, but also to generate income. Finally, it elongates the end-of-life phase in the plastic value chain through recycling and potential reuse. </p>
<p>In Uganda, <a href="https://yowasteapp.com/">Yo Waste</a>, a technology start-up, has developed a mobile, cloud-based solution that connects waste generators to the nearest waste haulers in their community. Yo Waste improves the efficiency of scheduling and waste collection. It also helps waste collection companies measure the productivity of their trucks, and gives recyclers easier access to the plastic waste. </p>
<p>In Zambia, <a href="https://www.gistnetwork.org/recyclebot">Recyclebot</a> is connecting waste sellers to waste buyers via a crowdsourcing platform that aggregates waste by type and location. In effect, the plastic waste producers dispose of their waste for free, and waste buyers overcome the cost of separation, transfer and storage. </p>
<p>While these are promising innovations, the main challenge is scaling. <a href="http://parmindervir.com/5-challenges-that-african-start-ups-face-in-business/">This is slow on the continent</a>. Start-ups in the recycling industry face additional challenges like inadequate funding and an under-developed plastic market that offers limited opportunities for growth and income generation. </p>
<p>A significant proportion of the funds accessed by start-ups is provided as grants from international and local organisations. Pure business investments are rare, and policy interventions are way behind the curve. </p>
<h2>What can be done</h2>
<p>To accelerate the transition to a circular plastic economy, stakeholders from across a spectrum of organisations must work together. They include NGOs, cooperatives, think tanks and community groups. The current approach to tackle plastic waste on the continent remains scattered and inadequately co-ordinated. While efforts are being made to develop new ecosystems in many countries, key stakeholders are often missing. </p>
<p>In particular, African governments have a key role to play. They need to commit more to strategic investment in infrastructure, incentives and support for start-ups. African countries also need policy interventions to grow the market for circular plastic products at national and continent-wide levels. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362609257_Technology_acceptance_and_readiness_of_stakeholders_for_transitioning_to_a_circular_plastic_economy_in_Africa">another study</a>, we argued that innovators must tailor their strategies to create innovations that are functional and easy to use. This will make it easier for ordinary consumers and the general public to accept them. In turn it will help change habits of consumption and expand the market for circular plastic products.</p>
<p>Digital innovators, as early adopters, are critical for driving changes in the way the plastics economy works across the continent. Their innovations are also leading to knowledge exchange and cross-sectoral collaborations. </p>
<p>However, they also face significant institutional challenges and infrastructural limitations that are slowing down the pace of progress. By working together and pooling resources, stakeholders can achieve an impact that is much greater than the sum of their individual initiatives and contributions towards a circular plastic economy in Africa.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188014/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Seun Kolade receives funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)/EPSRC as a co-investigator of the project titled Digital Innovations for Transitioning to a Circular Plastic Economy in Africa (DITCh Plastic). Project Reference: EP/T029846/1</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Muyiwa Oyinlola receives funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)/EPSRC as a Principal investigator of the project titled Digital Innovations for Transitioning to a Circular Plastic Economy in Africa (DITCh Plastic). Project Reference: EP/T029846/1. </span></em></p>It’s important to look at the whole value chain in the plastics economy, starting with design of products that can be reused and recycled.Seun Kolade, Associate professor, De Montfort UniversityMuyiwa Oyinlola, Professor, De Montfort UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1844822022-07-06T13:35:37Z2022-07-06T13:35:37ZAfricans make up a tiny portion of genomics data: why there’s an urgent need for change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471412/original/file-20220628-22-v51h6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nigeria provides an excellent lens to look at the genetic diversity of African people.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/sample-being-pipetted-into-a-eppendorf-tube-for-royalty-free-image/1140201417?adppopup=true">Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>A group of Nigerian scientists, in conjunction with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-022-01071-6">established</a> the Noncommunicable Diseases Genetic Heritage Study consortium in February 2020. The aim is to produce a comprehensive catalogue of human genetic variation in Nigeria and assess the burden of noncommunicable diseases in 100,000 adults in the country. The Conversation Africa asked genetic epidemiologist <a href="https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/people/fatumo.segun">Segun Fatumo</a>, one of the leaders of the consortium, to explain what they are doing and why.</em> </p>
<hr>
<h2>How does Africa feature in global genomics?</h2>
<p>Until recently, only about <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/538161a">3% of genomic data</a> being used for genome-wide association studies came from people of African descent. Unfortunately, this proportion has fallen even further, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01672-4">to 1.1% in 2021</a>. This means people of African descent may miss out on the potential benefits of genomic research, including early detection of disease and rational drug design. </p>
<p>The current lack of genomic diversity has led to major scientific opportunities being missed. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ng1509">One study</a> which included people of African descent discovered a gene called <em>PCSK9</em> which helps in lowering bad cholesterol. This study led to new drugs that help prevent heart disease. This benefits everyone irrespective of their ancestry populations. It wouldn’t have been possible without including people of African descent. </p>
<p>Africans have the most diverse genomes of all the human populations because modern <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2953791/">humans originated in Africa</a> and then spread across the globe over the past 80,000 years. Therefore, studying the genome of Africans could uncover genetic variants not found in other populations. Such genes could yield new ways to diagnose, prevent and treat diseases for everyone. </p>
<h2>What does the consortium plan to do?</h2>
<p>We teamed up with <a href="https://54gene.com/">54gene</a>, a health technology platform company that’s building diverse datasets to unlock scientific discoveries. Together we established the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-022-01071-6">NonCommunicable Diseases Genetic Heritage Study consortium</a>. One aim is to develop a catalogue of human genetic variation in 100,000 adults in Nigeria. This will be the largest genomic data resource ever to come from continental Africa. It will be of great value to genomics researchers globally and may help in the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.</p>
<p>The other aim is to assess Nigeria’s burden of disease. We’re looking at things like haematological cancers and cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, metabolic, kidney function and sickle cell disorders.</p>
<p>Our consortium could serve as a template for large-scale genomics across the continent. We hope it will advance precision medicine and offer insights that will improve the health and well-being of African and global populations. </p>
<p>The consortium has five points on its agenda:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>address health issues of concern for Africans and other populations</p></li>
<li><p>ensure projects meet the highest ethical, legal and socially appropriate standards for research</p></li>
<li><p>generate, process, store and use large genomic datasets</p></li>
<li><p>build research capacity</p></li>
<li><p>develop leaders for genomics in Africa.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The first step is to collect samples. A minimum of 100,000 research participants have been recruited and samples of biological material like blood and urine have been stored for further genomic studies. </p>
<p>Next is to design a small chip that is able to capture a picture of somebody’s DNA sequence. There are three billion base pairs in any human genome. The chip will capture at least one million genetic variants that are important for different diseases. We are also developing other studies using the whole-genome DNA sequence of all three billion base pairs.</p>
<p>We will also be fostering a scientific community that will empower African genomics scientists to be leaders in the genomic world. We want more people in Africa to be in a position to write the continent’s own genomics agenda.</p>
<h2>Why focus on Nigeria?</h2>
<p>First, Nigeria has one of the most diverse ethnolinguistic concentrations in the world, with more than <a href="http://rogerblench.info/Language/Africa/Nigeria/Atlas%20of%20Nigerian%20Languages%202020.pdf">300 ethnic groups and 500 languages</a>. This diversity is taken as a proxy for potential genetic diversity, as seen in other populations. Data from the Nigerian population provides an excellent lens to look at the genetic diversity of African people. This will ensure that most genetic variations are captured.</p>
<p>Second, with <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1122838/population-of-nigeria/#:%7E:text=As%20of%202022%2C%20Nigeria's%20population%20was%20estimated%20at%20around%20216.7%20million.">over 200 million people</a>, Nigeria represents a quarter of the African population. We are recruiting people from across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.</p>
<p>With 100,000 research participants, we will be able to estimate the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases in the population, and understand the associated risk factors. </p>
<p>We are poised to provide information that could be used to develop tools for the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31537347/">early detection of diseases</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31537368/">disease prevention strategies</a> and <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2017.1595">treatment options</a>. </p>
<h2>What other initiatives are there on the continent?</h2>
<p>Our effort will complement other initiatives like <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4138491/">H3Africa</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867419311201">Uganda Genome Resource</a> and a few others.</p>
<p>H3Africa was launched in 2012. It has recruited close to 100,000 research participants for genomic research in the last decade and trained over 1,000 African scientists, including me. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://acegid.org/">African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases</a> is another successful Nigerian-based initiative. It is making an impact through training, discovery and surveillance of infectious pathogens.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nbgnetwork.org/">Nigerian Bioinformatics and Genomics Network</a> is another. It is fostering genetic research collaboration and provides opportunities for career development in genomics and bioinformatics.</p>
<p>The Uganda Genome Resource is currently <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-weve-learnt-from-building-africas-biggest-genome-library-126293">one of the largest</a> and most successful genomic initiatives in Africa. In 2019, a rich, diverse resource was <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867419311201">published</a> using data from 6,400 Ugandans. It includes whole genome sequencing of nearly 2,000 people.</p>
<p><em>Aminu Yakubu and Babatunde Olusola helped research this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184482/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Segun Fatumo received consultancy fees from 54gene Nigeria Ltd.</span></em></p>A new study hopes to produce a catalogue of human genetic variation and assess the burden of noncommunicable diseases in 100,000 adults in Nigeria.Segun Fatumo, Associate Professor of Genetic epidemiology & Bioinformatics, London School of Hygiene & Tropical MedicineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1847602022-06-28T15:04:53Z2022-06-28T15:04:53ZWhat it would take to set up an African drug discovery ecosystem<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470032/original/file-20220621-11-duwhsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A factor holding back African research is the lack of strong collaborative networks between African laboratories and institutions.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Africa has great potential for drug discovery. The continent has natural resources, indigenous knowledge and human capacity. And it has the need: it bears more than <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c01183">20%</a> of the global disease burden. There are many internationally recognised <a href="https://www.nrf.ac.za/information-portal/nrf-rated-researchers/">African scientists</a> undertaking cutting edge research. But a lack of resources makes it difficult to conduct world class science. A team of African biochemists, cell biologists and bioinformaticians shares some thoughts on what it would take to establish an Africa-wide drug discovery ecosystem. The authors are the key members of the <a href="https://covidrug-africaconsortium.rubi.ru.ac.za/">COVIDRUG-AFRICA Consortium</a> – the consortium for rapid COVID-19 drug development in Africa.</em></p>
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<h2>What are the challenges to drug discovery?</h2>
<p>Access to infrastructure, long-term funding and supply chain constraints are among the challenges.</p>
<p>In South Africa, spending on research and development (R&D) as a percentage of GDP is <a href="https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-africa-south-2021-2-south-african-research-spending-plummets/#:%7E:text=South%20Africa's%20gross%20expenditure%20on,dismal%20findings%20across%20the%20board.">low</a> – 0.62% in 2019-2020, down from 0.69% in 2018/2019. Most of this funding is from the government. Business and other R&D investment has also <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/media-briefs/cestii/sa-shines-rd">declined</a> in recent years.</p>
<p>For many other countries in Africa, expenditure on R&D is non-existent. China, the US, Israel and Germany, in contrast, spend on average between 2% and 4% of GDP on R&D. These countries are among the world’s <a href="https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/where-drugs-come-country">top drug producers</a>. </p>
<p>Drug discovery research in Africa receives modest but essential <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/grand-challenges-africa-drug-discovery">international funding</a> through philanthropic <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/grand-challenges-africa-drug-discovery">foundations</a> and selected <a href="https://www.samrc.ac.za/sites/default/files/attachments/2021-01-18/GRADIENTrfa.pdf">pharmaceutical companies</a>. However, substantial, focused initiatives for long-term funding are uncommon. An exception is the <a href="http://www.h3d.uct.ac.za/">H3D Centre</a> at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. It did pioneering work in collaboration with the <a href="https://www.mmv.org/">Medicines for Malaria Venture</a> on a promising new antimalarial compound. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/collaboration-pushes-frontiers-of-anti-malaria-drug-regimes-124645">Collaboration pushes frontiers of anti-malaria drug regimes</a>
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<p>Funding calls are often restricted to <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/grand-challenges-africa-drug-discovery">diseases specifically associated</a> with Africa. The unintended consequence is that the breadth of research supported in some of the world’s countries cannot be matched in Africa. This can stifle innovation. </p>
<p>Another factor holding back African research is the lack of strong collaborative networks between African laboratories and institutions. This is largely due to university policies and limited funding. </p>
<p>An often overlooked hindrance to drug discovery is the inefficient supply chain for reagents and consumables within the continent. The long delays and administrative burden of sourcing and obtaining chemicals often means that promising projects become impractical. </p>
<h2>Where are the problems in the process?</h2>
<p>To understand the weak spots and opportunities, it helps to look at the process of drug discovery.</p>
<p>The early phase involves generating collections of chemical compounds. This is achieved using synthetic chemistry, extraction from natural sources. It can also be done by identifying promising compounds for re-purposing using computational methods. Promising compounds are subjected to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK326710/">laboratory assays</a> to predict their potential behaviour in the body and suitability as medicines. There is little activity in this area in African countries. The main reason is infrastructure shortcomings. Researchers don’t have the advanced analytic instrumentation required for the assays. </p>
<p>The early phase of the drug discovery process is followed by animal testing and additional pre-clinical assessment of compounds. The final phase is clinical trials in human subjects. Costs and infrastructure requirements mount up as the process goes on. </p>
<p>There is scope for significant improvement in all these aspects. But the most pressing need is, arguably, expanding synthetic chemistry capacity beyond South Africa. What is holding this back is predominantly access to infrastructure. </p>
<p>A workable strategy would involve strengthening the early phase of the pipeline and then collaborating in later phases. This approach is likely to succeed and instil confidence in funders to further invest in sustainable drug research capacity development.</p>
<p>Additionally, governments could dedicate a fraction of their GDP to support research and development and facilitate customs clearance for chemicals and reagents and make it economically attractive for vendors to establish local entities.</p>
<h2>Why not let wealthier countries do this work?</h2>
<p>Pharmaceutical companies mostly focus on diseases that heavily affect the western world because of the substantial financial returns. Moreover, they have a financial incentive to focus on medications for chronic conditions that require a persistent or lifelong commitment from patients. Diseases that primarily affect Africa, notably <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30925-9/fulltext">infectious diseases</a>, are at the back of the queue for pharmaceutical companies. </p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has showed that in times of crisis, developed countries will prioritise their citizens. African self-sufficiency in vaccines and chemotherapeutics is thus vital. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-shows-why-africas-reliance-on-outsiders-for-health-services-is-a-problem-163441">COVID-19 shows why Africa's reliance on outsiders for health services is a problem</a>
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<p>Escalating pathogen resistance to existing therapeutics for endemic diseases is another reason to pursue drug discovery. </p>
<p>Africa’s store of indigenous knowledge, combined with natural resources that are not found elsewhere, creates an opportunity for natural product drug discovery. </p>
<p>Organisms may contain diverse chemotypes of compounds that are absent in synthetic compound collections routinely used for discovery purposes. About four decades ago, more than <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.9b01285">80%</a> of drugs were prominently from natural product sources or synthetically modified from natural compounds. Recent <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41573-020-00114-z.pdf">data</a> indicate that almost half of the drugs approved since 1994 are still based on natural products. And there are many more natural sources to explore.</p>
<p>Another reason for African countries to look for new drugs is the continent’s <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096098220902065X">genetic diversity</a> – which is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41576-020-00306-8">greater than that of other regions</a>. Populations <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3093198/">may differ</a> in their susceptibility to or tolerance of a particular drug treatment. African populations also possess a number of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2953791/pdf/nihms235397.pdf">genetic adaptations</a> that have evolved in response to diverse climates and diets, as well as exposure to infectious diseases. </p>
<p>Even minor genetic differences could affect the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40262-016-0450-z">pharmacokinetics of drugs</a>, including altered metabolism of drugs that results in a decreased therapeutic response and increased toxicity. There is also a socio-economic case to be made for hosting and expanding drug discovery programmes in Africa. Stronger drug discovery capacity could produce companies serving various aspects of the pharmaceutical development pipeline. This would be an economic stimulus.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/antimicrobial-resistance-calls-for-brainpower-of-a-space-agency-and-campaigning-zeal-of-an-ngo-171405">Antimicrobial resistance calls for brainpower of a space agency and campaigning zeal of an NGO</a>
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<p>A multinational consortium of scientists could substantially increase capacity in Africa for all aspects of discovering drugs against current and future diseases of the continent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184760/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ozlem Tastan Bishop receives funding from
1. Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) and African Academy of Sciences (AAS): COVID-19 Research and Development Goals For Africa Award
2. Medicines for Malaria Venture: African Challenge Grant
3. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Malaria Medicine Venture and African Academy of Sciences: Grand Challenges – Africa: Drug Discovery Programme
4. African Academy of Sciences and Wellcome Trust: TraypanoGEN+, the genetic determinants of two neglected tropical diseases
5. National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health: H3ABioNet
. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adrienne Edkins receives funding from 1. South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF); 2. Newton Advanced Fellowship from the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK); 3. Resilient Futures Challenge-Led Initiative from the Royal Society (UK); 4. Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) and African Academy of Sciences (AAS): COVID-19 Research and Development Goals For Africa Award; 5. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Medicines for Malaria Venture and African Academy of Sciences: Grand Challenges – Africa: Drug Discovery Programme; 6. Glaxosmithkline (GSK)/Tres Cantos Open Lab Foundation; 7. South African Medical Research Council Self-Initiated Research Grant; 8. Poliovirus Research Foundation; and 9. Rhodes University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ed Murungi receives funding from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fabrice Boyom is the Founder/PI, Antimicrobial & Biocontrol Agents Unit (AmBcAU), University of Yaounde 1, Cameroon.
He receives funding from
1. Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) and African Academy of Sciences (AAS): COVID-19 Research and Development Goals For Africa Award
2. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Malaria Medicine Venture and African Academy of Sciences: Grand Challenges – Africa: Drug Discovery Program
3. NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program
4. Merck Schistosomiasis Research Grant
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heinrich Hoppe receives funding from the Science for Africa Foundation: Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) and African Academy of Sciences (AAS): COVID-19 Research and Development Goals For Africa Award; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Malaria Medicine Venture and African Academy of Sciences: Grand Challenges – Africa: Drug Discovery Programme</span></em></p>Drug discovery research in Africa receives modest but essential international funding through philanthropic foundations and selected pharmaceutical companies.Ozlem Tastan Bishop, Professor and Director of Research Unit in Bioinformatics (RUBi), Rhodes UniversityAdrienne Edkins, Professor of Biochemistry, Rhodes UniversityEdwin Murungi, Senior Lecturer and Chair of the department of Medical Biochemistry, Kisii UniversityFabrice Boyom, Professor of Biochemistry, Université de Yaounde 1Heinrich Hoppe, Associate Professor of Biochemistry, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1833662022-06-13T13:29:32Z2022-06-13T13:29:32ZMolecular research could help Nigeria solve a host of health problems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464752/original/file-20220523-42302-ho3i3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Molecular research like that conducted at the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases in Nigeria is key to medical breakthroughs.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Our world and everything in it is made up of innumerable tiny molecules. These molecules are the smallest units of chemical compounds or living things. Viruses, bacteria, parasites, plants, animals, humans: each organism is underpinned by molecules. Studying them allows scientists to understand the basic principles and interactions that govern all forms of life. </p>
<p>Shifts at such basic levels change the way an organism looks or functions. That’s critical in understanding diseases, for one thing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, molecular research enabled scientists to quickly understand how the new coronavirus behaved and how to prevent infection. That, in turn, drove <a href="https://www.scienceboard.net/index.aspx?sec=rca&sub=ASGC_2022&pag=dis&ItemID=4298">vaccine development</a>.</p>
<p>Molecular research could also, in future, make it possible to personalise medicine – basing treatment on a patient’s DNA. And it may be key to progress in the treatment of diseases such as sickle cell anaemia, diabetes and cancer.</p>
<p>There’s a problem, though: molecular research is expensive. It requires specialised equipment and chemicals, which is costly.</p>
<p>In Nigeria, where I conduct molecular research – and in many other African countries – there is very little state funding for research and development. Nigeria’s <a href="https://tetfundserver.com/">TETFund</a>, the government agency responsible for all higher education funding, has very <a href="https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/399432-buhari-approves-n7-5-billion-for-research-grants.html">limited resources</a>. Molecular research is often neglected in funding decisions in favour of other forms of research that could provide immediate solutions to pressing societal needs, such as immediate control measures for disease outbreaks.</p>
<p>As I argued in a recent <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frma.2021.788673/full">journal article</a>, though, molecular research can help address some of Nigeria’s health needs. Nigeria has a rich <a href="https://medcraveonline.com/IJAWB/factors-affecting-the-population-trend-of-biodiversity-in-the-niger-delta-region-of-nigeria.html">biodiversity</a> of humans, animals and plants whose molecular compositions may hold clues to future advancements in medical science. The country also bears a huge <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02722-7/fulltext">burden</a> of infectious disease. Microorganisms that cause <a href="https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/nigeria-neglected-tropical-diseases-explainer/">diseases</a> abound in the tropical climate of Nigeria. </p>
<p>Investment in research into the molecular characteristics of these microorganisms would go a long way in disease control and management both locally and globally. </p>
<h2>Untapped contributions</h2>
<p>It’s worth noting what Nigeria’s molecular research scientists have already been able to achieve without good resources. </p>
<p>They were at the forefront of sequencing the SARS-CoV-2 genome within days of the first infection being recorded on Nigerian soil. This work allowed them to publish the <a href="https://virological.org/t/first-african-sars-cov-2-genome-sequence-from-nigerian-covid-19-case/421">first SARS-CoV-2 sequence data</a> on the African continent. This was made possible by many years of international and local funding to build capacity at the African Centre of Excellence for the Genomics of Infectious Disease and the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerian-scientists-have-identified-seven-lineages-of-sars-cov-2-why-it-matters-144234">Nigerian scientists have identified seven lineages of SARS-CoV-2: why it matters</a>
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<p>Imagine how much more could be done and how Nigeria could contribute to global health solutions if its numerous excellent scientists were properly equipped with adequate facilities. </p>
<p>South Africa has demonstrated this dedicated research support via its <a href="https://www.nrf.ac.za/">National Research Foundation</a>. Huge funds have been invested in research for the control of HIV and AIDS and, more recently, COVID-19.</p>
<p>At present, most Nigerian molecular research scientists do not have the specialised research equipment they need. This is because of cost and limited availability. Most of this equipment, and the chemical reagents needed for this work, is imported. There are a few specialised reference molecular laboratories in the country, but not nearly enough to serve the needs of this nation of more than <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=NG">200 million people</a>. </p>
<p>Universities, which are the ideal spaces for such research facilities, don’t offer adequate institutional support for procuring molecular research equipment and reagents. </p>
<p>Yet there are many diseases peculiar to the country and region, for which new treatments could be easily developed with the aid of molecular research. They include genetic diseases like <a href="https://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/sickle-cell-disease">sickle cell</a>, noncommunicable diseases like <a href="https://diabetesatlas.org/data/en/country/145/ng.html">diabetes</a>, and infectious diseases like <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/topics/malaria-762">malaria</a> and <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/neglected-tropical-diseases#tab=tab_1">neglected tropical diseases</a> (among them river blindness and sleeping sickness or African trypanosomiasis). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-finding-offers-breakthrough-in-beating-african-sleeping-sickness-65569">New finding offers breakthrough in beating African sleeping sickness</a>
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<p>Nigeria – and the African continent – cannot continue to wait for western researchers to find solutions to these peculiar health challenges. </p>
<h2>Concerted effort</h2>
<p>Nigeria has the opportunity to contribute an enormous amount of knowledge to molecular research. For this to happen, a concerted effort is required by the government, institutions, local and international funding bodies, and molecular researchers themselves. </p>
<p>COVID-19 has taught us that a health problem in one place could threaten global health. Therefore all hands should be on deck to tackle health challenges wherever they occur. </p>
<p>There is a strong need for national and international funding bodies to increase funding allocations to improve molecular research capacity in Africa. Also, universities and research institutions should provide an enabling environment by providing easy access to the equipment and facilities that researchers need. Researchers will thus be encouraged to find solutions to health challenges and train more scientists.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183366/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chinwe Uzoma Chukwudi receives funding from National Institutes of Health, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and African Academy of Sciences. </span></em></p>Molecular research is expensive, but worth it because of the burden of disease that it could relieve.Chinwe Uzoma Chukwudi, Senior lecturer in Molecular Pathology and Microbial Genetics, University of NigeriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1826832022-05-10T13:45:08Z2022-05-10T13:45:08ZMaking COVID vaccines in Africa: advances and sustainability issues<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462011/original/file-20220509-18-mj9lv0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">GettyImages</span> </figcaption></figure><p>The history of vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa dates back to 1881, when Egypt’s <a href="https://www.vacsera.com/">Vacsera company</a> was established. Before the COVID pandemic was <a href="https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020">declared</a>, there were eight African countries that, to our knowledge, had a record of vaccine manufacturing facilities (see the map). They were: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia (North Africa); Nigeria and Senegal (West Africa); Ethiopia (East Africa); and South Africa. </p>
<p>Between them they had 14 facilities.</p>
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<p>Few were involved from end to end (discovery, fill and finish, pack and distribute) production process. Instead, the focus was largely on the late stage of production process – fill and finish as well as pack and distribution. </p>
<p>It’s therefore not surprising that Africa’s vaccine manufacturing capacity has been limited. The facilities supply less than <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01048-1">1% of vaccines needed</a> for the continent. </p>
<p>Before the COVID pandemic, efforts to address the challenge of limited vaccine production on the continent yielded little success. The pandemic clearly exposed the limited capacity to manufacture vaccines. African countries were among the last in the world to begin rolling out <a href="https://www.afro.who.int/news/supply-bottleneck-financial-challenges-fuel-delays-africas-covid-19-vaccine-rollout">COVID vaccines</a>. This was largely due to limited access to vaccines and funding constraints.</p>
<p>As a result key stakeholders on the continent were joined by <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8640685/">international partners</a>, to advocate for the urgent and rapid establishment of COVID vaccines manufacturing capacity on the continent.</p>
<h2>The urgency around manufacturing capacity</h2>
<p><a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/vaccine-nationalism-hoarding-putting-us-all-risk-secretary-general-tells-world-health">Vaccines nationalism and hoarding</a> were topical issues in 2021. In a telling statement issued by the UN secretary general in October 2021, COVID vaccines nationalism and hoarding were hampering the global response to the pandemic, putting everyone at risk of the devastating impacts of the disease, including emergence of the <a href="https://www.un.org/press/en/2021/sgsm20986.doc.htm">SARS-COV-2 variants of concern</a>. It did not make public health sense to have a few high income countries with <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/01/what-is-vaccine-nationalism-coronavirus-its-affects-covid-19-pandemic/">excess supply</a> of COVID-19 vaccines while low income countries had nothing. </p>
<p>Once COVID vaccines began to be approved – the first was <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/31-12-2020-who-issues-its-first-emergency-use-validation-for-a-covid-19-vaccine-and-emphasizes-need-for-equitable-global-access">Pfizer/BioNTech</a> – there was high demand for rapid deployment to vaccinate <a href="https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/immunization/covid-19/strategy-to-achieve-global-covid-19-vaccination-by-mid-2022.pdf">70% of the global population</a>. Demand outstripped the supply. The <a href="https://www.gavi.org/covax-facility">COVAX</a> facility, a global collaboration to accelerate development and equitable access to COVID vaccines, was established. Despite this, high income countries used their financial muscle to secure almost all available supply of <a href="https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/coronavirus-covid-19-vaccines-for-developing-countries-an-equal-shot-at-recovery-6b0771e6/">COVID vaccines</a>. Developing countries, including those on the continent, were left at the back of the queue. </p>
<p>African countries failed to secure the vaccines they needed. As a result, pressure began to mount on the leaders of African countries to develop local COVID vaccine manufacturing capacity.</p>
<p>In April 2021, the African Union Commission and Africa Centres for Disease Control hosted a <a href="https://africacdc.org/news-item/african-union-and-africa-cdc-launches-partnerships-for-african-vaccine-manufacturing-pavm-framework-to-achieve-it-and-signs-2-mous/">two-day high-level summit</a> to discuss the issue. The outcome of the summit was a framework for action prepared by the Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacturing. At the same time, there were <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8640685/">willing partners</a> to support COVID vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa, both within Africa and outside Africa.</p>
<h2>A logical approach to solving the problem</h2>
<p>The logical start for the continent was to use existing vaccine manufacturing capacity. Ten of the 14 existing manufacturing facilities were front runners in launching COVID vaccine production. Nine out of the 10 started production (late stages) of COVID vaccines in 2021. </p>
<p>Encouragingly, five new facilities from five more countries (Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Botswana) are being set up to produce COVID vaccines. Some of the new facilities will start production of COVID vaccines as early as 2022. This is an incredible achievement. </p>
<p>The map provides an encouraging picture and it would be tempting to say that Africa will no longer be at the back of the queue in accessing COVID vaccines. On completion of the set up of all (15) COVID vaccines manufacturing facilities on the continent, Africa will be well positioned to produce other vaccines too. </p>
<p>A pertinent issue is the sustainability of the facilities. Demand and market for locally produced vaccines will be critical for the sustainability of the 15 COVID vaccines manufacturing facilities in Africa.</p>
<p>There’s a salutary lesson in the example provided by Aspen Pharmacare, the South African based vaccines manufacturing plant. It was the first on the continent to enter a non-binding <a href="https://www.aspenpharma.com/2020/11/02/aspen-announces-agreement-with-johnson-johnson-to-manufacture-investigational-covid-19-vaccine-candidate/">agreement</a> with J&J’s Janssen to manufacture COVID vaccines. </p>
<p>At the time of the agreement in 2021, J&J’s COVID vaccine ticked many boxes in terms of suitability for deployment on the continent. The plan was that all the vaccines manufactured at the plant would be distributed on the continent. But by May 2022, Aspen had not received orders to supply the COVID vaccines to the continent, possibly due to the changing dynamics of COVID vaccines supply in 2022 – supply appears to be greater than the demand. </p>
<p>Without demand for the vaccines, Aspen’s COVID vaccines manufacturing facility is at risk of closure. Key stakeholders such as Africa CDC and the South African government have called for African countries to place orders with Aspen. </p>
<p>While the problem of establishing COVID vaccines manufacturing capacity appears to have been partly resolved, a bigger problem lies ahead – sustaining the facilities on the continent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182683/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Kagina receives funding from Wellcome and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In the past, Benjamin has received unconditional educational grants from the pharmaceutical sector. </span></em></p>Before the COVID pandemic, efforts to address the challenge of limited vaccine production on the continent yielded little success.Benjamin Kagina, Senior Research Officer & Co-Director, Vaccines For Africa Initiative, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1822352022-05-09T13:31:17Z2022-05-09T13:31:17ZUsing cellphones to deliver health services to teens: a sub-Saharan Africa review<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460540/original/file-20220429-11-zoz471.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mobile health interventions offer convenience, confidentiality, and privacy.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Yaw Niel/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa have the highest rate of <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0246308#sec019">unplanned pregnancies</a>. Almost half (46%) of these unintended pregnancies among adolescents end in <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/report/from-unsafe-to-safe-abortion-in-subsaharan-africa">abortion</a>.</p>
<p>Lack of access to family planning services contributes significantly to high rates of unplanned pregnancy and subsequent maternal death among this group. This is due to restrictive health policies, social norms, and health system barriers such as lack of privacy, and confidentiality. </p>
<p>Mobile health interventions can help. <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/44607/9789241564250_eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">Mobile health</a> involves using mobile phones or devices to improve health behaviours and services. Mobile health interventions have become popular in addressing several health issues.</p>
<p>These interventions offer convenience, confidentiality, and privacy. This makes them an appealing way to reach adolescents. They are particularly important when it comes to adolescents accessing sexual and reproductive health services.</p>
<p>There are half a billion mobile phone service subscribers in sub-Saharan Africa. This is almost half of the region’s population. Mobile health offers great opportunities to deliver and monitor health interventions at a much lower cost than traditional face-to-face services. They also offer a wider reach. </p>
<p>Several <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD013680/full">studies</a> have documented that mobile health interventions work to improve the use of public health services. But limited studies have shown if mobile health interventions improve adolescents’ uptake of sexual and reproductive health services in sub-Saharan Africa. </p>
<p>In a recently published <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0261973">review</a> we evaluated mobile health interventions. The aim was to see if they were effective in improving adolescents’ uptake of sexual and reproductive health services. </p>
<p>The results showed that mobile health interventions were effective. They improved adolescents’ uptake of sexual and reproductive health services across a wide range of services. The evidence was strongest for contraceptive use. </p>
<p>Our findings suggest that mobile health interventions promoting prevention or treatment adherence for HIV for individuals at risk of or living with HIV are acceptable to adolescents. And that they are feasible to deliver in sub-Saharan Africa.</p>
<p>We concluded that there is a need to develop mobile health interventions tailored for adolescents. These, if low cost, have the potential to improve the sexual and reproductive health outcomes in the region.</p>
<h2>The problem</h2>
<p>One of the biggest barriers to safe reproductive health for young people is that many countries have laws and health policies that prevent them accessing a full range of sexual and reproductive health services. This includes contraceptive methods.</p>
<p>For example, a recent <a href="http://uaps2019.popconf.org/uploads/190147">study</a> in five countries in sub-Saharan Africa showed that adolescents are often questioned about their age when seeking contraceptive services. Some healthcare providers insist on receiving approval from parents before administering contraceptives to adolescents. </p>
<p>This practice goes against the World Health Organisation <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/102539/9789241506748_eng.pdf">guidelines</a>. These acknowledge adolescents’ access to contraceptives as a human right. They recommend that access to comprehensive contraceptive information and services be provided equally to everyone (including adolescents) voluntarily, free of discrimination, coercion, or violence.</p>
<h2>Our research</h2>
<p>We focused on studies that were carried out in sub-Saharan Africa using either single or multiple mobile health interventions that support the delivery of sexual and reproductive health information or services. We included 10 studies. Most of them were carried out in East Africa (7), with two in Ghana and one in South Africa. </p>
<p>The systematic review showed that mobile health interventions were effective in improving contraceptive use among adolescents. Also, mobile health interventions improve sexual health knowledge, adherence to HIV treatment, self-reporting of pregnancy, exclusive breastfeeding, delay of resumption of sexual activities for postpartum young women, and increase in health facility delivery among adolescents. However, the evidence supporting this is not strong and additional studies may be required to validate these findings.</p>
<p>We found that the short message service (SMS) was the most used mobile health platform in sub-Saharan Africa. Interactive mobile health interventions had a stronger impact in improving the uptake of sexual and reproductive health services compared to the non-interactive interventions (one-way messaging style). This is not surprising. Interactive mobile health interventions can allow adolescents to acknowledge messages or seek clarification on what they do not understand. It is also possible to test the knowledge of adolescents on some of the sexual and reproductive health issues in the form of quizzes. This implies that future mobile health intervention planners should consider interventions that support interactions.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, most of the studies in our review did not consider if mobile health interventions are cost-effective. This is an important consideration in whether adolescents will use the services or not. Mobile health (or mHealth) interventions may offer convenience to adolescents. But it is key to consider how affordable and sustainable they are to adolescents. </p>
<h2>Recommendations</h2>
<p>Working together with adolescents to co-develop mobile health interventions is important in meeting their healthcare needs. </p>
<p>Mobile health may be used to bridge healthcare gaps, but they do not erase existing inequalities. </p>
<p>A way forward to increase the chance that mobile health interventions improve the uptake of sexual and reproductive health services among adolescents is to ensure the interventions are interactive, have a sound theoretical underpinning to increase the chances of them being effective and are cost-effective.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182235/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Mobile health or mHealth is an appealing way to reach adolescents because it offers opportunities to deliver and monitor health interventions at a much lower cost.Oluwaseyi Dolapo Somefun, Postdoctoral fellow, University of the Western CapeDr Franklin Onukwugha, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, University of HullLesley Smith, Professor of Women's Public Health, Institute of Clinical and Applied Health Research, University of HullMonica Magadi, Professor of Social Research and Population Health, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1809182022-04-20T14:06:14Z2022-04-20T14:06:14ZNanotechnology has much to offer Nigeria but research needs support<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457961/original/file-20220413-14-e8u8fy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nigeria's nanotechnology journey has been slow. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/nanotechnology-news-photo/179795914?adppopup=true">BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nanotechnology is one of the engines of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Fourth-Industrial-Revolution-2119734">fourth industrial revolution</a>. The <a href="https://www.uneca.org/niif2020">global market</a> of nanotechnology-enabled products stood at approximately US$1.6 trillion in 2014. In one <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119371762.ch1">estimate</a>, the industry could generate 6 million jobs and account for 10% of global GDP by 2030.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nano.gov/nanotech-101/what/definition">Nanotechnology</a> creates, uses and studies materials at nanoscale - one nanometre is a billionth of a metre. Some of these materials occur in nature. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1381117704000839">DNA</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23504415/">proteins</a> and <a href="https://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=1635.php">viruses</a> are examples. Others can be created by slicing larger molecules into smaller ones or by building up atoms into nanoparticles. </p>
<p>Nanomaterials have special physical, optical, biological, chemical, electrical and mechanical attributes. For instance, <a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/new-inventions/graphene.htm">graphene</a> is a very light nanomaterial but is several hundred times stronger than steel. </p>
<p>The field of nanotechnology has blossomed to encompass physics, chemistry, engineering, materials and biological sciences. It has applications in agriculture, industry, medicine, the environment and consumer products. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11051-017-4056-7">big players</a> in nanotechnology investments are the US, Japan, the EU and South Korea. Along with China, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11051-017-4056-7">they accounted for 72.12%</a> of the nanotech patents in the US patent and trademark office in 2016. Brazil, Russia and India are also <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11192-012-0651-7">very active</a>. </p>
<p>Egypt, South Africa, Tunisia, Nigeria and Algeria <a href="https://www.uneca.org/niif2020">lead</a> the field in Africa. Since 2006, South Africa has been developing scientists, providing infrastructure, establishing centres of excellence, developing national policy and setting regulatory standards for nanotechnology. <a href="https://www.nsti.org/directory/countries/ZA">Companies</a> such as Mintek, Nano South Africa, SabiNano and Denel Dynamics are applying the science. </p>
<p>In contrast, Nigeria’s nanotechnology journey, which started with a national initiative <a href="https://naseni.org/centers/coex-na">in 2006</a>, has been slow. It has been dogged by uncertainties, poor funding and lack of proper coordination. Still, scientists in Nigeria have continued to place the country on the map through publications. </p>
<p>In addition, research clusters at the <a href="http://nanotechunn.com/new/">University of Nigeria, Nsukka</a>, <a href="https://lautechnanotech.com/">Ladoke Akintola University of Technology</a> and others have organised conferences. Our research group also founded an <a href="https://stnanojournal.org/publication#:%7E:text=Nano%20Plus%3A%20Science%20and%20Technology%20of%20Nanomaterials%20is%20a%20bimonthly,in%20all%20areas%20of%20nanotechnology.">open access journal</a>, Nano Plus: Science and Technology of Nanomaterials.</p>
<h2>Nanotechnology in Nigeria</h2>
<p>To get an idea of how well Nigeria was performing in nanotechnology research and development, we turned to SCOPUS, an academic <a href="https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/scopus#:%7E:text=Scopus%20is%20a%20bibliographic%20database,%2C%20medical%2C%20and%20social%20sciences.">database</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11051-021-05322-1">Our analysis</a> shows that research in nanotechnology takes place in 71 Nigerian institutions in collaboration with 58 countries. South Africa, Malaysia, India, the US and China are the main collaborators. Nigeria ranked fourth in research articles published from 2010 to 2020 after Egypt, South Africa and Tunisia. </p>
<p>Five institutions contributed 43.88% of the nation’s articles in this period. They were the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Covenant University, Ota; Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso; University of Ilorin; and University of Lagos. </p>
<p>The number of articles published by Nigerian researchers in the same decade was 645. Annual output grew from five articles in 2010 to 137 in the first half of 2020. South Africa published 2,597 and Egypt 5,441 from 2010 to 2020. The global total was 414,526 articles. </p>
<p>The figures show steady growth in Nigeria’s publications. But the performance is low in view of the fact that the country has the <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1242428/number-of-universities-in-africa/">most</a> universities in Africa. </p>
<p>The research performance is also low in relation to <a href="https://nationalpopulation.gov.ng/statistics/">population</a> and <a href="https://country.eiu.com/nigeria">economy</a> size. Nigeria produced 1.58 articles per 2 million people and 1.09 articles per US$3 billion of GDP in 2019. South Africa recorded 14.58 articles per 2 million people and 3.65 per US$3 billion. Egypt published 18.51 per 2 million people and 9.20 per US$3 billion in the same period.</p>
<p>There is no nanotechnology patent of Nigerian origin in the US patents office. Standards don’t exist for nano-based products. South Africa had <a href="https://statnano.com/report/s103">23 patents</a> in five years, from 2016 to 2020. </p>
<p>Nigerian nanotechnology research is limited by a lack of sophisticated instruments for analysis. It is impossible to conduct meaningful research locally without foreign collaboration on instrumentation. The absence of national policy on nanotechnology and of dedicated funds also hinder research.</p>
<h2>Benefits of nanotechnology</h2>
<p>The size of Nigeria’s <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/2/17/africas-largest-economy-nigeria-tops-growth-forecasts">economy</a> points to great potential for research and the development of patents and products.</p>
<p>Nanotechnology would benefit Nigeria in several ways. In agriculture, nanomaterials can be exploited as slow release fertilisers and eco-friendly agents against pests and diseases. There are applications in renewable and clean energy generation, through biofuels and solar panels. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-new-energy-technologies-can-help-south-africa-ease-its-energy-crunch-54254">How new energy technologies can help South Africa ease its energy crunch</a>
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<p>In security, nanomaterials in gadgets and vehicles can enhance protection and capabilities of personnel. For example, there is potential for smart uniforms with ultraviolet protection, antimicrobial properties, camouflaging, and resistance to water and fire.</p>
<p>Nanomaterials can make drinking water safe through disinfection and removal of chemical pollutants. In healthcare, antimicrobial nanofabrics can help prevent hospital-acquired infections. </p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nanomedicine-could-revolutionise-the-way-we-treat-tb-heres-how-101262">Nanomedicine could revolutionise the way we treat TB. Here's how</a>
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<p>Through numerous applications, Nigeria can use nanotechnology to deliver on <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">development goals</a>. Ending <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal1">poverty</a> and promoting <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal9">sustainable industrialisation</a> are just two. </p>
<h2>Moving forward in nanotechnology</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.nta.ng/news/technology/20180220-fg-inaugurates-national-steering-committee-on-development-of-nanotechnology/">In February 2018</a>, Nigeria’s science and technology minister unveiled a national steering committee on nanotechnology policy. But the policy is yet to be approved by the federal government. In September 2021, I presented a memorandum to the national council on science, technology and innovation to stimulate national discourse on nanotechnology. </p>
<p>Government should implement the outcomes of these efforts without delay. It can:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>approve a national policy,</p></li>
<li><p>set up an agency to coordinate implementation,</p></li>
<li><p>make funds available for infrastructure, and</p></li>
<li><p>establish a centre of excellence. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The country’s trading and diplomatic partners may be of aid. The private sector also has a part to play. It can provide funds for research, offer scholarships and donate instruments. Adopting nanotechnology in commercial activities will also promote its development in Nigeria.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180918/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Agbaje Lateef receives funding from TETFund. </span></em></p>As a major contributor of knowledge, Nigeria could make giant strides in nanotechnology – which in turn could help various industries blossom.Agbaje Lateef, Professor of Microbiology, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1808812022-04-19T14:24:16Z2022-04-19T14:24:16ZWhy African scientists are studying the genes of African species, and how they do it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458560/original/file-20220419-1234-hzx4t2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The red mangrove is among the species already selected for genome sequencing.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Busara/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>DNA is the blueprint of life. All the information that an organism needs to survive, reproduce, adapt to environments or survive a disease is in its DNA. </p>
<p>That’s why <a href="https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/A-Brief-Guide-to-Genomics">genomics</a> – studying DNA and genes – is so important. It involves sequencing species’ parts or the entire genome. This is a scientific method to determine an organism’s DNA by breaking these components into fragments and determining their compositions or sequences. The fragments are then aligned and merged to reconstruct the original sequence.</p>
<p>This arms researchers with critical information. They can learn how to treat or prevent diseases, for instance, or how to breed crops and animals with better traits. Those traits might help species adapt better to the environment (more crucial than ever in the era of climate change) or improve their yields, making them more profitable.</p>
<p>But there’s a large gap in genomics research: barely anything is known about the genomics of African species. This is despite the continent’s rich biological diversity. It has <a href="https://courseware.e-education.psu.edu/courses/earth105new/content/lesson03/03.html">plants and animals</a> that aren’t found anywhere else in the world. </p>
<p>These species have provided people across Africa with food, medicines and a way of life for centuries. For example, people in the continent’s dry regions have long kept indigenous cattle, sheep and goats. The animals are a source of food and income in places that cannot support crop production. </p>
<p>African species have been neglected by the global genomic community. Scientists tend to focus on their own regions or countries. Africa’s own genome sequencing and bioinformatics capacity is limited, so the continent’s scientists haven’t been able to do the necessary work. To date only a fraction of species endemic or indigenous to the continent have been properly sequenced and adequately characterised using other scientific methods. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://africanbiogenome.org">African BioGenome Project</a> (AfricaBP) wants to change this. It’s a pan-African project that seeks to sequence Africa’s endemic and indigenous plants and animals. That’s an <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00712-4">estimated 105,000 species</a>. We are three of the more than 109 African scientists involved in the project and recently published <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00712-4">a position paper in Nature</a> outlining the consortium’s vision for the next 10 years.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-human-genome-project-pieced-together-only-92-of-the-dna-now-scientists-have-finally-filled-in-the-remaining-8-176138">sequencing of the human genome</a>, a US-led effort, shows how many direct and indirect benefits there are to this kind of work. The Human Genome Project led to advancements in genomics and precision medicine. It spurred new innovations in equipment, technologies and infrastructure that generated <a href="https://www.ashg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/ASHG-TEConomy-Impact-Report-Final.pdf">US$265 billion annually</a> for the US economy by 2019. </p>
<p>AfricaBP also aims to attract more students and early career researchers to genomics and related fields – and to encourage them to stay on the continent so that African countries benefit from their skills. This process could be achieved by working with African institutions to provide permanent positions in genomics and bioinformatics.</p>
<h2>A crucial investment</h2>
<p>Genome sequencing is a complex process. Species must be sampled and collected from specific locations; processed and quality controlled; sequenced and then carefully studied. </p>
<p>AfricaBP works closely with its scientific communities and partners to select species for sequencing. We will be sending out several calls to scientists across Africa to nominate species. Some have already been selected: these include the Checkered Elephant Shrew (<em>Rhynchocyon cirnei</em>) in Central and South-East Africa and the red mangrove tree (<em>Rhizophora mangle</em>) in West Africa). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A small rodent with a long thin nose and a body that's reddish-brown" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458562/original/file-20220419-21-k6yioo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458562/original/file-20220419-21-k6yioo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458562/original/file-20220419-21-k6yioo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458562/original/file-20220419-21-k6yioo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458562/original/file-20220419-21-k6yioo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458562/original/file-20220419-21-k6yioo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458562/original/file-20220419-21-k6yioo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Checkered Elephant Shrew is among the species whose genomes will be sequenced.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Sloviak/Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>Researchers are asked to explain the species’ scientific, cultural and economic significance. We want the species we sequence to be useful to a particular community or communities, perhaps by providing food or medicine, or to be culturally significant. They could also be endangered, making their documentation through sequencing efforts even more urgent.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-human-genome-project-pieced-together-only-92-of-the-dna-now-scientists-have-finally-filled-in-the-remaining-8-176138">The Human Genome Project pieced together only 92% of the DNA – now scientists have finally filled in the remaining 8%</a>
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<p>Some may raise their eyebrows at the project’s projected cost: about US$1 billion over the next 10 years to complete the planned sequencing, develop infrastructure and train more scientists. It might seem like an unjustified expense given Africa’s urgent needs, such as food security.</p>
<p>But genomics can help to address some of these needs. Providing nutritious food to an ever increasing human population will be made possible by new technologies that reduce breeding times and select for the traits that make crops hardy, adaptable and nutritious. For example, the <a href="https://www.icarda.org/">International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas</a> in Rabat, Morocco, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10722-017-0513-5">screened 5,780 wild crops</a>, like sugar beet and pea; it found that many of these can cope with major desertification. These crops’ genes could be transferred to related crops to help deal with arid conditions.</p>
<p>This sort of science has also been shown to drive economic growth through related fields such as biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, new medical devices and through providing health care in new and innovative ways. The human genetics and genomics sector in the US <a href="https://www.ashg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/ASHG-TEConomy-Impact-Report-Final.pdf">has been found</a> to support more than 850,000 jobs and contributed US$265 billion to the US economy. </p>
<h2>Retaining African talent</h2>
<p>African science stands to benefit from this initiative. There are already 109 African researchers involved in AfricaBP; most of them (87) are based at 22 institutions across the continent, in countries including Morocco, Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya, and South Africa.</p>
<p>Developing better genomic infrastructure in African countries is a way to keep researchers on the continent, harnessing their skills for their own countries and regions. It is also crucial to get more African scientists involved in initiating home-grown research projects that focus on national priorities.</p>
<p>In the next decade we hope that AfricaBP will be part of efforts to prioritise genomic sequencing – and help reap its benefits for the continent.</p>
<p><em>The authors wish to acknowledge the roles played by Fatu Badiane Markey, Bouabid Badaoui, Girish Beedessee, Katali Benda, Alan Buddie, Chukwuike Ebuzome, Samuel Eziuzor, Yasmina Fakim, Nidhal Ghanmi, Fatma Guerfali, Isidore Houaga, Justin Ideozu, Sally Katee, Slimane Khayi, Anmol Kiran, Josiah Kujah, Emmanuel Kwon-Ndung, Kim Labuschagne, Roksana Majewska, Ntanganedzeni Mapholi, Rose Marks, Charles Masembe, Sikhumbuzo Mbizeni, Acclaim Moila, Zahra Mungloo-Dilmohamud, Sadik Muzemil, Charlotte Ndiribe, Julien Nguinkal, Taiwo Omotoriogun, Julian Osuji, Fouzia Radouani, Verena Ras, Ole Seehausen, Abdoallah Sharaf, Varsha Shetty, Yves Tchiechoua, Catherine Ziyomo and Yedomon Zoclanclounon in AfricaBP.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180881/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>AfricaBP is supported by the following partners:
Vertebrate Genome Project (VGP);
Beijing Genomics Institute Group Research, China;
Inqaba Biotechnical Industries (SA), South Africa;
Center for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH);
MGI, China;
Beijing Genomics Institute Group Research, China;
The Epizoic Diatom Genome Project;
National Institute for Communicable Diseases, South Africa;
Mount Kenya University, Kenya;
Human Hereditary and Health in Africa Bioinformatics Network (H3ABioNet)
National Animal Health Diagnosis and Investigation Center, Ethiopia;
Universitty of Copenhagen, Denmark;
Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Kenya;
Modern Sciences & Arts University (MSA), Egypt;
The Biotech Institute, Zimbabwe;
Ethiopian Biotechnology Institute (EBTi), Ethiopia;
Clarentian University of Nigeria, Nigeria;
University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), Nigeria;
University of California, Davis, USA;
African Glacier Invertebrates (Glacier and Polar Life);
IndaloBio Genetic Laboratories;
University of South Africa, South Africa;
Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia;
Tree of Life programme, UK;
National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA), Morocco;
Polytechnic School of the University of Abomey-Calavi (EPAC), Benin Republic;
MyAfroDNA Ltd., Nigeria
Université Mohammed V, Morocco
GenApAgiE laboratory, Algérie;
The Institut Pasteur de Tunis (IPT), Tunisia;
The Global Genome Initiative for Gardens (GGI-Gardens), USA;
Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (IGB), USA
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya;
Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK;
10,000 Plants Genomes Project (10KP).
The author has no personal funding to declare.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Appolinaire Djikeng receives funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UK Government (Foreign Commonwealth and Development Organisation, UKRI/BBSRC) and from Jersey Overseas Aid.
Appolinaire Djikeng is affiliated with Association of African Animal Breeders, Africa Think-Thank to respond to emerging technological issues in Africa agriculture (Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa - FARA). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>ThankGod Echezona Ebenezer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The African BioGenome Project is a pan-African project that seeks to sequence Africa’s endemic and indigenous plants and animals.Anne Muigai, Professor of Genetics, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and TechnologyAppolinaire Djikeng, Professor, The University of EdinburghThankGod Echezona Ebenezer, Bioinformatician, European Bioinformatics InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1781722022-03-28T15:13:18Z2022-03-28T15:13:18ZUsing animals for scientific research is still indispensable for society as we know it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449203/original/file-20220301-17-1032kdr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Kenya’s national airline – Kenya Airways – made headlines when it announced it would <a href="https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business/kenya-airways-to-stop-transporting-monkeys-mauritius-to-us-3700430">stop</a> transporting monkeys for animal research. This followed an accidental highway crash in <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/monkey-business-escaped-laboratory-monkeys-after-pennsylvania-crash-found-180979460/">Pennsylvania</a>, in the US, which involved a truck transporting monkeys that had been bred in Mauritius for laboratory experiments in the US. </p>
<p>Following the accident, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) US, an animal rights group, <a href="https://www.peta.org/media/news-releases/victory-airline-that-flew-monkeys-involved-in-pa-truck-crash-ends-monkey-lab-shipments/">contacted</a> Kenya Airways urging them to reconsider transporting the animals, putting forward their view that animal experimentation is a cruel industry.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-macaque-monkeys-of-mauritius-an-invasive-alien-species-and-a-major-export-for-research-176569">The macaque monkeys of Mauritius: an invasive alien species, and a major export for research</a>
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<p>Such an incident is indeed tragic. But if we consider the number of people who would have died without the existence of medication and novel medical technologies developed thanks to animal research, then ending animal research could lead to a more tragic outcome in the longer term.</p>
<p>Most countries do animal research, perhaps not very tiny countries or very poor countries. There is a nationwide ban on animal testing for cosmetics throughout the European Union, Israel, Norway, as well as in India. But animal testing for other reasons is still widely accepted.</p>
<p>Most of the animals used come from commercial breeders – one is <a href="https://www.jax.org/jax-mice-and-services/colony-management/breeding">Jackson Laboratory</a> in the US. Other sources include specialist breeders and large breeding centres which can provide genetically modified animals for specific research. The animal testing facilities themselves may also rear animals. </p>
<p>In general, all over the world, policymakers <a href="https://sciencebusiness.net/news/parliament-votes-through-demand-faster-phase-out-animal-testing-research">do aim</a> to move towards animal-free methods of scientific research and have introduced very <a href="https://business.gov.nl/regulation/animal-testing/">strict regulations</a> for animal research. </p>
<p>Scientists and policymakers <a href="https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(21)00536-5?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0896627321005365%3Fshowall%3Dtrue">share</a> the long-term goal of reducing animal use in scientific research and where possible eventually even stopping it. It’s an ambitious goal. For this to happen, animal-free methods need to be developed and validated before they can become a new standard. </p>
<p>Animal-free innovations have been developed for some areas of biomedical research, such as <a href="https://cen.acs.org/analytical-chemistry/First-animal-free-toxicity-test/99/web/2021/06">toxicology</a>. However, most parties recognise that at present, not all research questions can be answered using only animal-free methods. </p>
<p>Based on decades of doing research on the human brain, which involves using animals, to us it’s clear that – for the foreseeable future – there remains a crucial need for animal models to understand health and disease and to develop medicines.</p>
<h2>Unique knowledge</h2>
<p>It is animal research that provides researchers with unique knowledge about how humans and animals function. Perhaps more than in any other field of biomedical research, complete living animals are needed to understand brain function, behaviour and cognition. </p>
<p>Behaviour and cognition, the final outputs of a brain organ, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0896627321005365">cannot be mimicked</a> using any existing animal-free technologies. We currently simply <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0896627321005365">do not understand</a> the brain well enough to make animal-free solutions.</p>
<p>Another striking, very recent example that showed the current need for animal research is the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982220311842">COVID-19 pandemic</a>. The way out of the pandemic required the development of a functioning vaccine. Researchers amazed the world when they made targeted vaccines available within one year. This, however, has relied greatly on the use of animals for testing the efficacy and safety of the vaccine.</p>
<p>A key fact that remains often invisible is that the rules and regulations for conducting animal research are, in comparison, perhaps even stricter and more regulated, by for example the <a href="https://www.nal.usda.gov/animal-health-and-welfare">Animal Welfare act</a> in the US and the <a href="https://rm.coe.int/168007a67b">European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental and other Scientific Purposes</a> in Europe. Than, for example, in the food and entertainment industry, although regulations are in place here too such as governmental rules for the treatment of animals in order to protect their health and wellbeing. </p>
<h2>Should it be banned?</h2>
<p>In the world as we know it today, animal research is still <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/4/3/391">generally accepted</a> as part of society. There are many important reasons why laboratory animal research is still needed:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>To learn about biological processes in animals and humans.</p></li>
<li><p>To learn about the cause of diseases.</p></li>
<li><p>To develop new treatments and vaccines and evaluate their effects.</p></li>
<li><p>To develop methods that can prevent disease both in animals and humans.</p></li>
<li><p>To develop methods for the management of animals such as pests but also for the conservation of endangered species.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Of course many, animal researchers included, are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982220311842">hopeful</a> that one day animal experiments will no longer be necessary to achieve the much needed scientific outcomes. However, the situation is that for many research questions related to human and animal health we still need animals.</p>
<p>As long as we cannot replace animals, there should be more focus on transparency and animal welfare, to benefit the animals as well as science. Awareness and financial support of this at the governmental level is key to enable animal researchers to always strive for the highest level of animal welfare possible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178172/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There remains a crucial need for animal models to understand health and disease and to develop medicines.Monique Wolvekamp, Senior Advisor Animal Ethics and Outreach, Donders Centre for Neuroscience, Radboud UniversityJudith R. Homberg, Professor, Radboud UniversityLisa Genzel, Associate Professor in Neuroinformatics, Radboud UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1775592022-02-27T08:35:15Z2022-02-27T08:35:15ZLike COVID, TB is a pandemic and must be treated as an emergency<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448247/original/file-20220224-25-14gc0my.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Operating in crisis mode for COVID-19, TB, or any other health catastrophe is difficult to sustain.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Seyllou/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1993, the World Health Organisation (WHO) <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/58749/WHO_TB_94.177.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">declared</a> tuberculosis (TB) a global public health emergency. It urged nations to coordinate efforts to avert millions of deaths.</p>
<p>In January 2020, the WHO <a href="https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-statement-on-ihr-emergency-committee-on-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov)">declared</a> COVID-19, another airborne infectious disease, a public health emergency of international concern. </p>
<p>The similarity between the global responses to these two pandemics ends there.</p>
<p>The scientific, public health, medical, and pharmaceutical communities’ responses to COVID-19 in the past two years has been spectacular. </p>
<p>Within two weeks of declaring COVID-19 a global emergency, the WHO had convened a <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-WHE-2021.02">meeting of experts</a> and issued a research roadmap. National governments rapidly committed vast sums of money into research at all levels, from basic virology and immunology to clinical care and prevention. Pharmaceutical companies launched development programmes for new products to diagnose, treat and prevent COVID-19. </p>
<p>As a result, diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines were developed at a dizzying pace, delivering an array of tools to control and end the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.</p>
<p>The effective and equitable deployment of those tools is a challenge. But no one can say that science has been found wanting in responding to the global crisis.</p>
<p>TB, on the other hand, has not been treated as a true emergency. Yet its worldwide distribution, impact on health, and mortality burden was just as dire. TB incidence remains <a href="https://www.who.int/teams/global-tuberculosis-programme/tb-reports/global-tuberculosis-report-2021">plateaued</a> at 10 million cases per year. In 2020 case detection fell by almost 20% and mortality rose for the first time in a decade to 1.5 million deaths. These setbacks are <a href="https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/58/5/2101786">directly attributable</a> to the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<h2>Comparing and learning from responses</h2>
<p>The US National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine held a <a href="https://www.nap.edu/read/26404/chapter/1#2">TB workshop</a> in September 2021 to address these challenges and discuss lessons learned from the response to SARS-CoV-2. The workshop highlighted what happens when one epidemic is treated as an emergency and the other is not. </p>
<p>With SARS-CoV-2, the development of diagnostic tests proceeded at speed. Researchers working with government-funded consortia and industry in multiple countries quickly launched treatment trials. It took only weeks to get from protocol development, regulatory review and institutional review board approvals to the launch of phase 3 drug trials. The development of vaccines for COVID-19 went from genetic sequence to phase 1 trials in less than 2 months, phase 3 in another 4 months. Food and Drug Administration approval under an Emergency Use Authorisation came within 11 months. Across the board, institutions treated COVID-19 as an emergency and operated in crisis mode. </p>
<p>Compared with current research on vaccines for TB, the difference is staggering <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/iuatld/ijtld/2022/00000026/00000003/art00003">(Table 1)</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448366/original/file-20220224-13-3p1q7j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="INSERT ALT TEXT" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448366/original/file-20220224-13-3p1q7j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448366/original/file-20220224-13-3p1q7j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=318&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448366/original/file-20220224-13-3p1q7j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=318&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448366/original/file-20220224-13-3p1q7j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=318&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448366/original/file-20220224-13-3p1q7j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448366/original/file-20220224-13-3p1q7j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448366/original/file-20220224-13-3p1q7j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author supplied</span></span>
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<p>The COVID-19 pandemic is different from the TB pandemic in many ways, with its sudden appearance, rapid worldwide spread, and broad impact on individuals and communities. Nevertheless, TB remains a major killer and the pace of TB clinical research can best be described as glacial. </p>
<p>A comparison of investments in TB research versus research into COVID-19 is astonishing <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/iuatld/ijtld/2022/00000026/00000003/art00003">(Table 2)</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448367/original/file-20220224-15-c836ln.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="INSERT ALT TEXT" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448367/original/file-20220224-15-c836ln.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448367/original/file-20220224-15-c836ln.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448367/original/file-20220224-15-c836ln.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448367/original/file-20220224-15-c836ln.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448367/original/file-20220224-15-c836ln.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448367/original/file-20220224-15-c836ln.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448367/original/file-20220224-15-c836ln.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">author supplied </span></span>
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<h2>Triumphs despite long timelines</h2>
<p>Even with limited funding, there have been some triumphs in TB research in the past decade:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa0907847">molecular assays</a> make diagnosis possible in less than 2 hours</p></li>
<li><p>treatment of multidrug resistant TB has been <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1901814">shortened</a> and made easier</p></li>
<li><p>treatment of drug-susceptible TB has been <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2033400">shortened</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa1104875">treatment of TB infection</a> has been cut, with <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa1806808">safer and better tolerated</a> regimens. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>But all of these transformative advances took far longer than they should have. Funding opportunities for TB biomedical research are fewer and the reviews of TB applications are slow. The overall timeline for conducting critically important TB research is scandalously long. Most studies are unnecessarily prolonged by long administrative and regulatory review processes.</p>
<p>The broader problem, however, is much larger than the mechanics of individual funding agencies or regulatory bodies. </p>
<p>First, nobody is treating TB as an actual emergency. As we have seen with COVID-19, when everyone thinks it is an emergency, people act differently, and things move rapidly. </p>
<p>Second, the clinical and public health research infrastructure is vastly underfunded and under-supported. COVID-19 has demonstrated what is possible when researchers, funders, and regulatory agencies unite to confront a crisis. Game-changing trials can be conducted in record time without cutting corners and compromising participant safety and scientific integrity, if everyone behaves like it is an emergency. But to do so requires a radical change in mindset in addition to substantially greater human and financial resources.</p>
<h2>How to accelerate progress</h2>
<p>Operating in crisis mode for COVID-19, TB, or any other health catastrophe, is difficult to sustain. But the COVID-19 pandemic has shown what works to accelerate progress against a global threat. </p>
<p>First, substantial funding for priority research multiplies innovation and progress. As a starting point, governments, pharma/biotech companies, and foundations must increase investment in TB research, at least to the levels laid out in the UN High Level Meeting <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/events/un-general-assembly-high-level-meeting-on-ending-tb">Report</a>, and make TB a central element in global pandemic response strategies. </p>
<p>Moving forward, the level of ambition must be raised. There is a growing recognition from the COVID-19 experience that the funding targets for TB research are far too low – and the scale-up of newly developed tools is far too slow. Governments and other funders must commit more to end TB by 2030.</p>
<p>Second, the funding timeline can be greatly reduced. If the rationale for faster review of biomedical research in HIV and COVID-19 was that these infections would rapidly spread and kill, then TB grants should likewise be reviewed rapidly. </p>
<p>Third, the regulatory bottleneck must be cleared. There must be more investment in the regulatory and ethics infrastructure (including training and international coordination) so that these vital requirements do not suffocate innovative research. </p>
<p>Finally, governments must treat TB as a central element in global pandemic response strategies. The new focus on pandemic preparedness – most notably the beginning of negotiations at WHO to create a legally binding pandemic treaty or similar mechanism – must include a commitment to end ongoing pandemics such as TB. If an annual 1.5 million deaths due to TB is not a pandemic, then what is?</p>
<p>Advances in TB diagnostics, treatments and prevention need to be pursued and scaled up with the urgency they deserve. If we do not behave like TB is a global health emergency, we will continue to experience unacceptable suffering from a disease that has killed more than 20 million people in this century alone.</p>
<p><em>The original version of this article co-authored by Mike Frick and Pramay Nahid was first <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iuatld/ijtld">published</a> in The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177559/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard E. Chaisson has received research funding from the US National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Unitaid, USAID, and several small foundations.</span></em></p>In 2020 TB case detection fell by almost 20% and mortality rose for the first time in a decade. These setbacks are directly attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.Richard E. Chaisson, Director, Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1771722022-02-18T15:17:32Z2022-02-18T15:17:32ZHow trying to copy a COVID vaccine changes the outlook for African countries<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446991/original/file-20220217-2069-1balj8e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Afrigen, a biotechnology company based in Cape Town, South Africa, is developing Africa's first proprietary COVID-19 vaccine. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kristin Palitza/picture alliance via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The World Health Organisation (WHO) has <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/18-02-2022-who-announces-first-technology-recipients-of-mrna-vaccine-hub-with-strong-support-from-african-and-european-partners">announced</a> the first six African countries that will receive technology to produce messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. This comes off the back of the news that a South African consortium – part of the WHO’s technology <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/21-06-2021-who-supporting-south-african-consortium-to-establish-first-covid-mrna-vaccine-technology-transfer-hub">transfer hub set up in 2021</a>– had <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00293-2">successfully replicated</a> Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. Ina Skosana spoke to Professor Kelly Chibale about the significance of the replication of the vaccine and what the next steps are.</em></p>
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<h2>What does the WHO technology-transfer hub do, and why is it significant?</h2>
<p>The World Health Organisation (WHO) technology transfer hub initiative aims to fight COVID-19 vaccine access inequality by making it possible for low-income countries to manufacture their own vaccines. Currently, Africa has only <a href="https://africacdc.org/covid-19-vaccination/">11.69% of the continent’s population</a> fully vaccinated while over 70% of the high-income countries have already vaccinated more than 40% of their people. </p>
<p>This initiative – through skills and technology transfer – potentially increases Africa’s chances of providing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/27/most-poor-nations-will-take-until-2024-to-achieve-mass-covid-19-immunisation">COVID-19 immunisation to the continent’s entire population by 2024</a>. On 3 February, Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines – a Cape Town based biotechnology company and a partner in the hub – <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/world-first-safricas-afrigen-makes-mrna-covid-vaccine-using-moderna-data-2022-02-03/">announced</a> that it had successfully produced the continent’s first-ever messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/africas-first-mrna-vaccine-technology-transfer-hub-gets-to-work-171019">Africa's first mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub gets to work</a>
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<p>This landmark was achieved in partnership with the University of the Witwatersrand using publicly available information to replicate Moderna’s COVID-vaccine “formula”. It shows that Africa has got the skills and technology needed to produce this type of vaccine. The hub has <a href="https://medicinespatentpool.org/news-publications-post/mpp-position-statement-on-patents-with-regards-to-the-mrna-vaccine-technology-transfer-hub">made it clear</a> that it will not infringe on patents. </p>
<p>I believe that Afrigen’s achievement gives renewed hope for the continent’s biotechnological aspirations.</p>
<h2>How does this advance WHO’s technology transfer initiative?</h2>
<p>Afrigen is part of a consortium selected by the WHO last year for a pilot project to provide information on how to make COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries. Afrigen’s success is a major win for South Africa as well as for the entire continent. It means that the goal to scale up mRNA vaccine production in the targeted countries can be achieved. This development will advance the WHO’s initiative for the training hub to build capacity for manufacturing. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/messenger-rna-how-it-works-in-nature-and-in-making-vaccines-166975">Messenger RNA: how it works in nature and in making vaccines</a>
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<p>It promotes self-reliance in the targeted countries. With the manufacturing capacity and access to relevant technology, African countries can reduce the dependency on international manufacturers for medicines, vaccines and supplies while building stronger health security. Also, it has been proven that African countries have scientists and experts who are equal to the task. This will reverse the narrative that Africa is not a source of health innovation as it relates to drug and vaccine discovery and development.</p>
<h2>What are the next steps?</h2>
<p>The first should be to demonstrate that the Afrigen produced vaccine is biologically equivalent (that is, bioequivalent) to the Moderna vaccine that was replicated. </p>
<p>The second is to figure out how to scale up manufacturing under good manufacturing practice conditions for accelerated clinical trials of the bioequivalent vaccine. If bioequivalence cannot be demonstrated, then long term clinical trials will be needed to demonstrate efficacy and safety of the Afrigen vaccine.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/vaccine-production-in-south-africa-how-an-industry-in-its-infancy-can-be-developed-153204">Vaccine production in South Africa: how an industry in its infancy can be developed</a>
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<p>For large scale manufacturing Afrigen will share the information with Biovac – a state-owned South African vaccine producer and collaborator in the WHO hub initiative. Biovac will be the first recipient of the technology and would look into large scale good manufacturing practice. Thereafter, Afrigen is expected to share the knowledge with other local producers. </p>
<p>The recipients will be contributing to the collective effort to boost local vaccine production. It is anticipated that countries will be legally obligated to <a href="https://www.who.int/initiatives/the-mrna-vaccine-technology-transfer-hub">produce the vaccines locally</a>. The WHO plans to scale the production of the vaccine to a commercial level at the conclusion of the approval process that is expected <a href="https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/who-tech-transfer-hub-moderna-covid-19-vaccine-mrna">to come through in 2024</a>. </p>
<p>Moreover, Afrigen has committed to sharing the knowledge it has by supporting the training of biotech companies in South America. Additionally, the hub intends to shift its attention to developing <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/world-first-safricas-afrigen-makes-mrna-covid-vaccine-using-moderna-data-2022-02-03/">a variant of the mRNA vaccine that will not require cold temperatures for storage</a>, which is a requirement for some COVID-19 vaccines. </p>
<p>Most importantly, the efforts don’t end here. The company is building capability and capacity on the mRNA platform for future vaccines for diseases of high burden such as HIV and TB. This is just the beginning of building sustainable and capable infrastructure for Africa.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177172/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelly Chibale does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With the manufacturing capacity and access to relevant technology, African countries can reduce their dependency on international manufacturers for vaccines.Kelly Chibale, 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 TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1758562022-02-10T14:05:21Z2022-02-10T14:05:21ZSoapy plants can improve hand hygiene: southern Africa has plenty<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443688/original/file-20220201-24-1dwcow1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Good hygiene practices such as disinfecting surfaces and regularly washing hands with soap and running water are important in preventing all infections.</p>
<p>The cost of commercial sanitisers and soap – and access to water – can be a problem for low-income communities. The United Nations has <a href="https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/2-5-schools-around-world-lacked-basic-handwashing-facilities-prior-covid-19-pandemic">reported</a> that about three billion people (40% of the world’s population) don’t have soap and water available in their homes. </p>
<p>In these settings, the use of soapy plant species to sanitise hands and disinfect surfaces might be an option. Modern soap has its origins in the sap of plants that contain chemicals called saponins. Chemically, the structures of saponins and of commercial soap are similar. </p>
<p>Saponins can destroy viruses and other microorganisms in the same way commercial soaps and detergents do. </p>
<p>Yet there is very little literature on the use of plants for hand hygiene. To address this, we conducted a literature review of research about saponin-rich plants from around the word with a specific focus on southern African flora. We set out to report on the occurrence and distribution, pharmacology and toxicity, mechanism of action, and overall availability of saponin-rich plants in southern Africa.</p>
<p>We compiled a <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/5/842">checklist</a> of plants that are rich in saponins and easily accessible to communities in southern Africa. Some of them have been used traditionally for hygiene, and others appear to have useful properties that weren’t widely known. </p>
<p>We found research on 51 species in the region. South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Namibia and eSwatini were reported to contain a wealth of saponin-containing plants. Only 15 of these species had actually been reported as being used for soaps or shampoos in various communities. These include <a href="https://www.cocktailsafe.org/soap-bark-quillaja-saponaria-safety-in-cocktails.html">soap bark</a>, <a href="http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=4063-1">soap creeper</a>, <a href="http://pza.sanbi.org/pouzolzia-mixta">soap nettle</a>, <a href="https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Acacia+concinna">soap pod tree</a>, “<a href="http://pza.sanbi.org/dicerocaryum-senecioides">boot protectors</a>” and <a href="http://pza.sanbi.org/deinbollia-oblongifolia">dune soapberry</a>. Leaves, twigs, roots, stem barks, fruits, seeds, and flowers of these plants are rubbed or agitated in water, forming a lather, which is then used for washing, bathing, and hair shampooing. </p>
<p>We also looked for scientific data to support any antimicrobial claims about soapy plants. Numerous studies showed evidence that saponins possess potent antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal activities. </p>
<h2>Saponins and harmful microorganisms</h2>
<p>Soap is able to detach dirt from a surface and disperse it into water, leaving the surface clean. It also has the extra property of being able to destroy microorganisms. Like commercial soap, saponins have been shown to be able to destroy microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria and some fungi. They can destroy the outer coat that protects viruses. This makes the viruses more susceptible to being denatured. Saponins in soapy plants use the same mechanism to kill bacteria and fungi. </p>
<p>Saponins are relatively non-selective in their disruption of cells. This makes them effective against a wide range of microorganisms that cause communicable diseases. </p>
<p>The extent to which microorganisms are susceptible to saponins depends on the types of saponins, and the types and structures of the targeted microorganisms. In enveloped viruses like the coronaviruses, the disease-causing proteins that are encoded by the viruses are protected by a lipid coat that makes it difficult to kill them. This is unlike the non-enveloped viruses like rotaviruses, which can be easily controlled by chemical substances because they don’t have the protective envelope.</p>
<p>But soap and saponins do work against coronaviruses. <a href="https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/why-soap-works/">Soap</a> is made of molecules which easily bond with water at one end but avoid water at the other end. When you wash your hands with soap, the water-hating ends will try to move away from water. As they do so, they interact with the lipid coating of the coronaviruses, <a href="https://en.unesco.org/news/how-soap-kills-covid-19-hands">disrupting and destroying them</a>. Since saponins are soap, they will do the same to coronaviruses.</p>
<p>Saponins also work against bacteria and fungi. Some bacteria have an external membrane that protects their genetic material. <em>Escherichia</em> <em>coli</em>, a common disease-causing agent, is one of these bacteria. But soap can disrupt this layer, which is basically made up of lipid.</p>
<p>Soaps and saponins are also useful against fungi because keeping the skin clean will prevent the growth and spread of fungi. Soaps and saponins help with thorough cleaning. Soaps are safer than antifungal agents, which can be toxic to mammalian cells.</p>
<p>Our review suggests that the sap of soapy plants found in southern Africa could be useful as disinfectants or sanitisers. The use of plants to formulate crude antimicrobial products could increase access to hygiene and also lead to better conservation of the plants.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175856/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David R. Katerere is a trustee of PharmaConnect Africa, a nonprofit that advances access to medicines in Africa.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yvonne Kunatsa received funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF). </span></em></p>Saponins from plants can destroy viruses and other microorganisms in the same way commercial soaps and detergents do.David R. Katerere, Research Platform Chair for Pharmaceutical and Biotech Advancement in Africa (PBA2), Tshwane University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1691702022-02-09T14:02:50Z2022-02-09T14:02:50ZScience academies and disciplinary groups have work to do on gender equality<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424421/original/file-20211004-19-wvgis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women have a valuable role to play across scientific disciplines - but can't do this without proper support.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Katleho Seisa/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Women remain <a href="http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/fs55-women-in-science-2019-en.pdf">under-represented</a> in science careers and research all over the world. There are several reasons for this, including <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0270467616655951">stereotypes</a> about what kind of work women “can” or “should” do; patriarchal attitudes; and a lack of support for women pursuing science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers.</p>
<p>This isn’t just an abstract concern. Gender equality matters for many sound reasons. For one, it’s enshrined in <a href="https://www.justice.gov.za/VC/docs/international/UN%20Human%20Rights.pdf">international human rights law</a> and it is one of the <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/">Sustainable Development Goals</a>. </p>
<p>It also makes good economic sense for countries to invest in and fully utilise their total populations. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/141107-gender-studies-women-scientific-research-feminist">Inclusive scientific leadership</a> in which women are equally represented is best suited to the needs of modern society. Plus, valuing diversity and multiple perspectives sparks creativity and innovation. Both are important hallmarks of scientific endeavour.</p>
<p>So, how are the world’s science academies and international disciplinary associations doing when it comes to getting – and keeping – women on board as members and leaders. That’s what we set out to examine in <a href="https://genderinsite.net/sites/default/files/GenderEqualityInScience_TwoGlobalSurveys.pdf">our new study</a>. We focused on science academies and disciplinary unions because together, these organisations represent a large proportion of global scientific endeavour. They have the potential to be powerful change-makers and leaders.</p>
<p>The study followed <a href="https://www.interacademies.org/publication/women-science-inclusion-and-participation-academies-science">a 2015 survey</a> on gender inclusion in academies. This allowed us to pinpoint whether and how academies had made any progress in certain areas. There were some encouraging findings: for example, women’s membership of academies increased from 13% to 17% and women’s leadership on governing bodies from 21% to 29%. Young academies, which generally represent early career scientists, fared far better than their senior counterparts, which is a promising sign for the future.</p>
<p>But there’s still plenty for young academies to do. Most still have less than a quarter women’s representation, though there was one bright spot: <a href="https://www.sayas.org.za/">South Africa’s Young Academy of Science</a> is ranked highest in the world when it comes to female membership; 57% of its members are women. </p>
<p>The report sets out several recommendations for furthering gender representation and equality globally. These include developing and maintaining a central repository of gender-related policies and actions as well as working intensively with disciplinary associations where improvement is needed in women’s representation. </p>
<h2>Key findings</h2>
<p>The study was coordinated by <a href="https://genderinsite.net/">GenderInSITE</a> (Gender in Science, Innovation, Technology and Engineering), an initiative aimed at promoting the role of women in these disciplines and demonstrating how the application of a “gender lens” leads to more effective, equitable and sustainable development. It was a collaboration with the <a href="https://www.interacademies.org/">InterAcademy Partnership</a> and the <a href="https://council.science/">International Science Council</a>. </p>
<p>The academies and disciplinary organisations surveyed are all members of the InterAcademy Partnership or the International Science Council. In total, they represent more than 250 unique organisations. That means the results we collected provide important baseline information for taking transformative action at a global level.</p>
<p>Here are some of the key findings:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Young academies are setting the pace when it comes to gender equality. On average, women’s share of their membership is 42%; ten young academies are ranked ahead of the highest ranked senior academy in terms of percentage of women members.</p></li>
<li><p>The highest ranked senior academy is the Academy of Sciences of Cuba. It increased its share from 27% in 2015 to 33% in 2020.</p></li>
<li><p>There are big disciplinary differences in women’s representation. This perpetuates <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-women-in-a-stem-field-leads-people-to-label-it-as-a-soft-science-according-to-new-research-173724">familiar patterns</a> evident also in women’s representation in research fields. For instance, representation was relatively higher in biological sciences (28%) and social sciences, humanities and arts (27%). It was lowest in the mathematical sciences (8%).</p></li>
<li><p>The Tanzania Academy of Sciences was among those academies that grew their representation of female scientists the most, increasing from 4% in 2015 to 12% in 2020. The Ethiopian Academy of Sciences now has the lowest representation of women members on the continent, at 9%. </p></li>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-must-include-more-women-in-physics-it-would-help-the-whole-of-humanity-165096">We must include more women in physics — it would help the whole of humanity</a>
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<p>We also found a big divide between actions and words. For instance, 68% of international disciplinary organisations said they were committed to diversity and inclusivity. But only 32% said they were taking action by, for instance, developing policies that would drive diversity and inclusion. Only 16% of these organisations reported that they had a budget for activities related to gender equality. </p>
<p>One of our most disappointing findings was that only six science academies of the 72 that participated last time discussed the 2015 survey report and its recommendations at a strategic planning session. This has prompted us to recommend that the IAP and ISC establish centralised monitoring and evaluation frameworks that require regular reporting of gender statistics by their member organisations. </p>
<h2>Recommendations</h2>
<p>The new survey contains a number of recommendations, which GenderInSITE, the InterAcademy Partnership and the International Science Council are committed to taking forward. </p>
<p>One of our next steps is to extend the survey to other global science organisations. This will contribute to a more inclusive and comprehensive understanding of gender equality in global science. The report also recommends developing and maintaining a central repository of gender-related policies and actions as a way of encouraging those organisations committed to gender transformation to learn from best practice examples. </p>
<p>GenderInSITE, the InterAcademy Partnership and the International Science Council have all committed to using their regional presences to gain insights and advance the gender equality agenda. This is especially so in countries or regions that are lagging. The same sort of work will be undertaken in disciplines that have been found wanting in terms of women’s representation.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/moves-are-afoot-in-africa-to-keep-more-women-in-science-careers-133641">Moves are afoot in Africa to keep more women in science careers</a>
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<p>Our three organisations will also establish centralised monitoring and evaluation frameworks that require regular reporting of relevant gender statistics by our member organisations. This reporting will happen at a high strategic level. In this way, we hope that gender transformation is prioritised.</p>
<p>It’s also important to note that we’re not merely focusing on numbers, since these are only part of the picture. Science academies and disciplinary organisations are also being encouraged to focus on making diversity and inclusion central to their institutional cultures.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169170/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roseanne Denise Diab receives funding from The Elsevier Foundation</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter McGrath works for the IAP, which receives core funding from the Government of Italy</span></em></p>Young academies, which generally represent early career scientists, fared far better than their senior counterparts - a promising sign for the future.Roseanne Denise Diab, Director: GenderInSITE, UnescoPeter McGrath, Researcher, Biosciences, The InterAcademy PartnershipLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1751022022-01-26T15:06:52Z2022-01-26T15:06:52ZCOVID lessons: scientists without quality data are like unarmed soldiers in a war zone<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441471/original/file-20220119-25-1qq9u0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Some of the most important lessons for public health from the COVID pandemic are about how the government should share data with the public, how updates about responses should be clearly articulated, and how important the sharing of the insight, the information, and the full relevant data are to the public. </p>
<p>The pandemic brought these issues into focus. But the challenge extends beyond the boundaries of COVID-19 to all diseases. </p>
<p>Mistakes made during the pandemic when it came to the collection, management and distribution of data must be recognised. And lessons must be learned and shared about efficiently navigating public health data. </p>
<p>We looked at <a href="https://theconversation.com/lockdown-didnt-work-in-south-africa-why-it-shouldnt-happen-again-147682">the effectiveness of lockdown in South Africa</a> and how data were used during the pandemic. We concluded that data collection and dissemination could have been much more efficient. And that if it had been it would have determined better outcomes.</p>
<p>For example, if more detailed, localised data had been publicly available throughout the country it would have been possible to quantify and contrast the spread of the disease between cities, towns and rural areas. In turn, this would have meant that those making policy decisions were better informed.</p>
<p>Our analysis and findings underscored that quality data is the cornerstone of good science. Without it, scientists given the job of informing the public about vital public health issues are like unarmed soldiers in a war zone. </p>
<p>We cannot emphasise enough the importance of epidemiological data, and how relevant it is in managing the early stages of a disease outbreak. However, as a disease progresses, so too must the underlying data and reporting improve to manage the progression of the outbreak.</p>
<h2>About more than just data</h2>
<p>Sharing information is not just about sharing any data with the public.</p>
<p>Take the issue of aggregate reporting. Limited inferences can perpetuate public bias. Aggregate reporting presents data in a way that illustrates a cumulative number or a time series progression of the total sum of data. These <a href="https://covid19.who.int/">World Health Organisation graphs</a> are a good example of both good and bad practice. Good because data are shared, bad because only one variable perspective is shared at a time. </p>
<p>Another challenge is that underlying data aren’t made available for other scientists to use easily. So even though comprehensive and well presented epidemiological reports are released by South Africa’s <a href="https://www.nicd.ac.za/">National institute of Communicable Disease (NICD)</a> and it now has a very usable <a href="https://www.nicd.ac.za/diseases-a-z-index/disease-index-covid-19/surveillance-reports/national-covid-19-daily-report/">dashboard</a>, the underlying data are not available for any other visualisations or analyses by others.</p>
<p>A further problem with aggregate reporting is that it abstracts the nuances and public healthcare interventions and changes over time. This includes things like modification in patient follow-up guidelines, introduction of a new treatment regimen (as was the case with HIV/TB) and innovative clinical surveillance strategies. </p>
<p>Members of the public need to have comparisons of the state of the current outbreak in relation to previous outbreaks of a similar nature. This would be contextually relevant and can help people to assess the insight as well as the data and move toward evidence based decision making.</p>
<p>The time frames can be adjusted from these dashboards. But the way the data are presented means that it’s hard to contextually compare different infectious disease surges (or clusters of outbreaks of a specific disease) and the impact on the healthcare system.</p>
<h2>Reflecting changing realities</h2>
<p>Disease outbreaks aren’t static. A disease <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-cant-banish-covid-19-but-we-can-end-the-pandemic-with-vaccinations-168294">can lose epidemic-status and become endemic</a>, as it becomes a constant and more predictable presence at a particular location. For example, both the contagiousness and harmfulness of a disease can change as a result of an actual intervention, such as an effective vaccine or effective non-pharmaceutical interventions. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-cant-banish-covid-19-but-we-can-end-the-pandemic-with-vaccinations-168294">We can't banish COVID-19. But we can end the pandemic with vaccinations</a>
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<p>In the initial stages of an outbreak, three primary data points are useful to everyone and should be shared routinely: time, place, and number.</p>
<p>Typically, after any outbreak, government or health authorities take steps to share basic data and infographics with the public that purport to justify any interventions they may recommend. </p>
<p>This was the case during COVID.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://zenodo.org/record/3732419#.Ye1mNdBBxPY">we identified</a> some immediate problems with this approach.</p>
<p>Firstly, much of the information is released only in formats like <a href="https://sacoronavirus.co.za/2022/01/22/update-on-covid-19-saturday-22-january-2022">infographics</a> that are not computer readable. This makes further analysis impossible without <a href="https://datascience.codata.org/articles/10.5334/dsj-2020-019/">research groups</a> and members of society manually transcribing, collecting, and sharing data. This causes a trust issue with the data: there might be multiple sources of the same information and the process is error-prone.</p>
<p>Secondly, data shared over time and subsequent visualisations became less frequent (in the case of data sharing) and remained aggregate (in the case of dashboards and infographics). An unfortunate consequence was that there wasn’t transparency or a clear correlation between the underlying evidence and decisions being taken.</p>
<p>So how can public health decision making stop being treated like a state secret? Aren’t there simply ways for the required data to be openly shared, and platforms created that enable engagement with the numbers? </p>
<p>We think it is indeed possible.</p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p><strong><em>Disaggregated data</em></strong>. In a country with inequities such as South Africa, aggregated data can hide disproportionate effects of an event on specific communities. Making the raw disaggregated data available can enable evidence-based advocacy and interventions to meet the needs of marginalised communities more effectively.</p>
<p><strong><em>Accessible data</em></strong>. Information should be shared with the inclusion of indices, metrics, and simplified computer readable data types. This would allow wider use and add a layer of transparency. It would also create an opportunity for community-led monitoring and evaluation outside the government. </p>
<p><strong><em>Choosing appropriate visualisations</em></strong>. We strongly <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/covid-cases">recommend</a> representing the data as a relative number (in other words such as percentages or per population size) in addition to absolute numbers. This would make it more accessible. Ordinary citizens would be able to understand better where things stand and how they are changing. It would also help inform changes they may choose to implement to keep themselves safe.</p>
<p>Also, previous outbreaks of a similar or the same pathogen should also be displayed. This would enable people to contextually assess the similarities and differences at a glance. Here’s a good example.</p>
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<h2>Flaws to overcome</h2>
<p>COVID-19 exposed the fragmented way in which data is released, and how insufficient data sharing can be if it’s not done at a local area level. </p>
<p>In some instances, data quality issues also compromise the trust the public has in the system. Trust is also affected by the frequency with which data are shared. Inconsistencies in terms of time and date for data sharing seems to be a universal problem. This breeds public distrust. </p>
<p>Finally, information shared should not only support “good news”. Negative data – such as <a href="https://aefi-reporting.sahpra.org.za/reactions.html">side effects of a particular treatment regimen or medical intervention</a> – should also be shared. </p>
<p>From COVID-19 we learned that there are multiple opinions around a specific issue. Some of these opinions have been badly informed. But one cannot blame people who are uninformed when important decision-making information is not freely and easily accessible. Without the required supporting information, citizens will continue to make assumptions or believe misinformation and disinformation that are not evidence-based. Their spread may be unavoidable. But the lack of access to quality data is not.</p>
<p><em>Nompumelelo Mtsweni, data visualisation developer, Elizabeth Cornelia Greyling, strategy manager at Columbus Stainless, and Emmanuel A. Simon, digital strategic consultant, also contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175102/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Herkulaas MvE Combrink is affiliated with the Interdisciplinary Centre For Digital Futures at the University of the Free State.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin T H Smart receives funding from The National Research Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Hazelhurst receives funding from the National Institutes of Health and GlaxoSmithKline Research & Development. The opinions expressed are his responsibility and not of the funders.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vukosi Marivate receives funding from ABSA and National Research Foundation. He is affiliated with Deep Learning Indaba and Masakhane NLP organisations. </span></em></p>As a disease progresses, so too must the underlying data and reporting improve to manage the progression of the outbreak.Herkulaas MvE Combrink, Lecturer, University of the Free StateBenjamin T H Smart, Associate Professor, University of JohannesburgScott Hazelhurst, Professor of Bioinformatics, University of the WitwatersrandVukosi Marivate, Chair of Data Science, University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.