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African Diaspora Network (ADN) has teamed up with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to launch an intercontinental and cross collaborative scientific community engagement program that brings together African and diaspora scientists to accelerate research and innovation in science and medicine for the continent. This initiative will leverage ADN’s valued network of over 15,000 individuals to inform and engage health science and research leaders to foster effective and robust transnational collaborations enhancing the continental research and development (R&D) ecosystem to improve health outcomes in Africa and contribute to global efforts.
The urgency of this program can be seen in several key statistics. Africa bears 20% of the global disease burden yet has the lowest density of health workers per population among regions at two physicians and ten nurses/midwives per 10,000 people (WHO). Additionally, African research institutions, despite record growth in publications, contribute less than 1 percent to the worldwide scientific output. This disproportionate contrast underscores the urgent need for concerted efforts generating collaboration and action from the combined transnational science and research communities.
This program will leverage ADN’s unique capability to significantly expand connections and collaborations between senior science and research leaders on the continent and African diaspora science leaders in the global health R&D arena.
1. To strengthen the African research and development ecosystem in alignment with the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) agenda by educating and convening broader networks and key stakeholders to increase health research and development opportunities on the African continent
2. To develop a sustainable science hub and database as an international community resource that captures and curates existing collaborative scientific programs, and generates new connections and partnerships between academic, private sector, and non-governmental organizations by matching interests and expertise in health-related research programs.
3. To build upon these program efforts, ADN will also seek to develop alliances with public and private sector organizations that can also benefit from this trusted connection hub. These ADN partnerships will allow for expansion of the portfolio into industry specific research connection opportunities.
Over a span of four years, the program seeks to develop and grow Africa based R&D collaborations with the African Diaspora and continental scientists, public and private organizations, academia, research centers, and investors by matching interests and expertise. ADN will establish a hub and database to facilitate and cultivate generative connections that can translate into concrete actions toward building African community-led collaborations and opportunities for policy, financing, and greater investments by facilitating intentional connections.
Three case studies will be attempted as a part of this programs’ outcomes. With each subsequent case study, ADN will incorporate learnings from the previous case studies to evolve the program to focus on current priority research areas.
Omolayo is a multi-lingual strategist and researcher with over ten years experience in international development and has worked with or for African diaspora communities across the US, Europe and Africa to mobilise, impact and advocate for their needs and interests. Omolayo holds an MSc with Distinction in Migration, Mobility and Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Prior to joining ADN, Omolayo was a research manager and gender specialist at DMA Global where she oversaw key projects for organisations such as the World Bank, IOM and others.
Fredros Okumu is a Professor of Vector Biology (Infectious Disease Ecology) at the University of Glasgow, School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine; and was formerly the Director of Science at Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania (2016-2023). He is a public health researcher and a mosquito biologist working on improved approaches for control of vector-borne diseases. Fredros is also passionate about improving ecosystems for young researchers in Africa. He serves in various advisory groups including WHO Malaria Policy Advisory Group (MPAG) and the Gates Foundation’s Malaria Strategic Advisory Panel (MSAP)
Peter Piot MD PhD is a Professor of Global Health and former Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He previously served as a Special Advisor to EC President von der Leyen on European and Global Health Security and as the EU Chief Scientific Advisor Epidemics until October 2024. Peter Piot was the founding Executive Director of UNAIDS and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations from 1995-2008. He co-discovered the Ebola virus in 1976 and has led pioneering research on HIV, women’s health and infectious diseases. He has published over 600 scientific articles and 16 books, including his memoir, No Time to Lose, available in 5 languages.
Kelly Chibale is a Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Cape Town (UCT) where he holds the Neville Isdell Chair in African-centric Drug Discovery & Development. He is also a Schmidt Sciences AI2050 Senior Fellow, Full Member of the UCT Institute of Infectious Disease & Molecular Medicine, founding Director of the South African Medical Research Council Drug Discovery & Development Research unit at UCT, Founder & Director of the UCT Holistic Drug Discovery and Development (H3D) Centre, and Founder & CEO of the H3D Foundation. Kelly obtained his PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University of Cambridge. This was followed by postdoctoral stints at the University of Liverpool and at The Scripps Research Institute. He was a Sandler Sabbatical Fellow at the University of California San Francisco, a US Fulbright Senior Research Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and a Visiting Professor at Pfizer. He serves as Editor-In-Chief of the American Chemical Society (ACS)’s ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters.
Josh Ghaim is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ignite Venture Studio, a new brand and innovation accelerator focused in the Health and Beauty markets as well as investments and support of Women and Minority led start-ups. Prior to his new venture, Josh was the former Chief Technology Officer of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health.
Kedest Tesfagiorgis leads the Global Partnerships & Grand Challenges team within the Discovery & Translational Sciences group at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Kedest is deeply committed to building collaborative, inclusive, long-term partnerships that address the biggest challenges in health and development. Her career has been rooted in the conviction that, as a global community in pursuit of equity, we go faster and further by working together. Kedest is a non-voting member of the board.
Prashant Yadav is a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He is a globally recognized expert in healthcare supply chains and has published extensively on health product manufacturing, procurement, and distribution. Yadav’s writing has appeared in major print media outlets, including the Financial Times, The Economist, Nature, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Affairs. He has frequently appeared as a supply chain expert on NPR, BBC, CNN, CBS, and CNBC. His research has received best paper awards from prominent scientific bodies. Yadav has held faculty positions at INSEAD, the MIT-Zaragoza Logistics Program, and the University of Michigan. He has also served as a lecturer at Harvard Medical School. Previously, Yadav was the strategy leader for supply chains at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and vice president of healthcare research at the University of Michigan’s William Davidson Institute. He currently serves on the boards of various global organizations and social enterprises. Yadav has provided expert testimony on multiple occasions before the U.S. Congress and other international legislative bodies on medicine supply chain issues. He has also been a member of multiple National Academy of Medicine Expert Committees and has chaired two expert committees. Yadav earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, an MBA from the Foundation for Organizational Research and Education (FORE) School of Management, and a PhD in Management Science from the University of Alabama.
Almaz Negash, a prominent trailblazer in Silicon Valley, has been recognized as one of the 12 inaugural members of President Biden’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement in the United States. Leveraging 25 plus years of experience in international trade, business management, and social innovation, Negash is able to build successful partnerships with a variety of stakeholders, including Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions, investors, and entrepreneurs based in the USA and around the world. In 2010, Almaz founded African Diaspora Network (ADN) to inform and engage Africans in the diaspora and facilitate direct collaboration with social entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders to invest and improve the lives of everyone on the continent.She has also been named as one of Silicon Valley 100 outstanding Women of Influence for her significant contributions to social innovation.