{"id":94954,"date":"2025-09-19T18:44:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T18:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=94954"},"modified":"2025-09-19T18:44:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T18:44:32","slug":"african-voices-of-science-avos-second-cohort-of-champions-launched","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=94954","title":{"rendered":"African Voices of Science (AVoS): Second cohort of champions launched"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The African Voices of Science (AVoS) has launched its second cohort of Champions with a call for African governments to prioritize health research and reduce the continent\u2019s dependence on external funding.<\/p>\n

The launch, held virtually under the theme \u201cBeyond Aid: Building Africa\u2019s Health Research, Development and Innovation Economy,\u201d was spearheaded by SpeakUpAfrica, africa.com, and REMAPSEN. It brought together scientists, policy makers and journalists from across the continent, including Senegal, Kenya, C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire and South Africa.<\/p>\n

Panelists included Dr. Moussa Sarr,<\/strong> Principal Investigator and Head of Cooperation Group at IRESSEF (Senegal); Dr. Robert Karanja, Founder and Executive Director of Biolinx Africa (Kenya); Dr. Raymonde Goudou, Minister and Governor of the Autonomous District of Lacs (C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire); and Dr. Russel Rensburg of Health and Innovation at South Africa\u2019s Department of Science and Innovation. <\/p>\n

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The keynote speakers were Dr. Safiatou Coulibaly, Coordinator \u2013 Genetics and Cancer Laboratory at the Pasteur Institute of Cote D\u2019Ivoire and Babacar Gueye, Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene, Senegal.<\/p>\n

Funding Concerns<\/h3>\n

A major concern raised at the launch was Africa\u2019s over-reliance on external funding, with \u201871 percent of health research on the continent financed by foreign donors\u201d<\/strong> according to Senegal\u2019s Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Ministry of Health, Senegal, Dr. Babacar Gueye.<\/p>\n

Dr. Russel Rensburg of South Africa stressed the urgency of mobilizing local resources to sustain Africa\u2019s health research. He said \u201cwe cannot continue to depend on donor funding. Mobilising domestic resources even through health taxes is crucial. Beyond that, we must create opportunities for young people to leverage technology in addressing the financing gaps,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Call for Government Commitment<\/h3>\n

Speakers urged African governments to commit more resources to research and development.<\/p>\n

Minister and Governor of Autonomous District of Lacs, Cote d\u2019Ivoire Dr. Raymonde Goudou argued that even a modest allocation could make a significant difference.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf countries were to dedicate just one percent of their national budgets to research, the impact would be enormous in the years ahead. Unfortunately, education and research are still not seen as priorities of development,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

She also identified that political instability and the brain drain remain barriers to strengthening Africa\u2019s research capacity.<\/p>\n

Policy and Local Solutions<\/h3>\n

Founder and Executive Director , Biolinx Africa, Kenya, Dr. Robert Karanja called on policymakers to back local innovations to address the continent\u2019s health challenges.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOur researchers are working hard to develop local medicines, yet poor regulation of imported products and weak policy commitment undermine their work. Governments must show stronger leadership in supporting these efforts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Innovation and Social Change<\/h3>\n

On innovative financing, Dr. Russel Rensburg proposed tapping into the creativity of Africa\u2019s youth. \u201cSocial media and digital platforms present opportunities for young people to generate ideas that can bring economic and health benefits,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Coordinator in charge of Genetics and Cancer Laboratory at the Pasteur Institute of Cote d\u2019Ivoire, Dr. Safiatu Coulibaly, reminded participants that research is not just about academic knowledge. \u201cResearch is also a quest for social change. It must transform lives and strengthen our societies,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Other speakers, including the Community Engagement Manager at the Aurum Institute and SAHTAC Lead, John Mdluli, stressed the need for capacity building, harmonisation of research practices, and stronger private sector involvement. <\/p>\n

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On that score, Dr. Goudou also reiterated the importance of investing in infrastructure such as laboratories and universities.<\/p>\n

Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n

The second cohort of African Voices of Science Champions is expected to serve as advocates for research in Africa,<\/strong> ensuring the continent\u2019s scientists are well represented in global health policy and decision-making while attracting investments to strengthen Africa\u2019s knowledge-based economy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"AfricanThe African Voices of Science (AVoS) has launched its second cohort of Champions with a call for African governments to prioritize health research and reduce the continent\u2019s dependence on external funding.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":94955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1972,8873,8874,1883,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-african-voices-of-science-avos","category-champions","category-national","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=94954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/94955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=94954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=94954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=94954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}