According to the World Bank, African countries spend an average of 0.45% of their GDP on research and development, compared to the global average of 1.7%. There is a major opportunity to sustain and strengthen a robust R&D ecosystem on the continent. This session explores the major opportunities for R&D identified by senior scientists and ongoing efforts to advocate for science collaborations that improve health outcomes for Africans.
Speakers
Kedest Tesfagiorgis
Deputy Director, Global Partnerships and Grand Challenges, the Gates Foundation (Moderator)
Kedest Tesfagiorgis
Deputy Director, Global Partnerships and Grand Challenges, the Gates Foundation (Moderator)
Kedest Tesfagiorgis leads the Global Partnerships & Grand Challenges team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Kedest has spent more than two decades addressing the biggest challenges in global health and development, with a focus on helping low-and-middle income countries build robust research and development programs. Her driving passion is building relationships and organizing the worldwide collaborations that are required to make sustainable change. Kedest has partnered with funders, policymakers, and scientists on six continents to foster innovation initiatives that improve the daily lives of people in low-income communities. Core to her work the conviction that the people closest to the problems that need solving should be empowered to work on them.
Kedest currently leads the Gates Foundation’s flagship Grand Challenges program launched in 2003. Over 20 years, Grand Challenges has supported almost 4,000 science and technology projects in 119 countries. Kedest has overseen the transition of Grand Challenges from a single Gates Foundation-funded program into a global network of programs that share the belief that innovation is the key to unlocking progress. Grand Challenges programs are currently running in South America, South Asia, and in Africa. Kedest is also in charge of strategy for the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting, the world’s preminent gathering of innovators in global health and development.
Beyond Grand Challenges, Kedest is sought after as a strategic advisor for colleagues wishing to meet new partners and build wider-ranging coalitions. Born to Eritrean parents and raised in Ethiopia in a large family, she grew up in a time of civil war and famine that solidified her commitment to equity and opportunity. She launched her career in health and development as her country began making historic progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals, proof that success is possible with the right strategy, support, and people. Kedest has made her home in Seattle, WA since 2000. She works with a number of local organizations and the African Diaspora community, most recently serving on the board of directors of the African Diaspora Network.
Yaw Bediako
CEO, Yemaachi Biotech
Yaw Bediako
CEO, Yemaachi Biotech
Yaw Bediako is a Ghanaian immunologist and biotech entrepreneur with a PhD from Northwestern University in the United States and post-doctoral fellowships in Kenya and London. In 2020, Yaw founded Yemaachi Biotech to increase the representation of African data in oncology drug discovery. Yaw is a 2021 Calestous Juma Science Leadership Fellow (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), a fellow of the Ghana Young Academy and an affiliate member of the African Academy of Sciences. In 2022, Yaw was recognized as one of the top 40 under 40 business people in Ghana, and in January of 2023, was selected as one of the 100 most influential Africans by the New African magazine.
Kelly Chibale
Professor, University of Cape Town
Kelly Chibale
Professor, University of Cape Town
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 Research Unit at UCT, Founder & Director of the UCT Holistic Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), and Founder & CEO of the H3D Foundation.
Janet Midega, PhD
Research Lead, Wellcome
Janet Midega, PhD
Research Lead, Wellcome
Janet Midega is the Research Lead for Drug Resistant Infections at Wellcome, where she is providing scientific leadership, program development and management support to the Infectious disease program on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). At Wellcome, she leads the work on the global burden of AMR, including Wellcome’s work on AMR surveillance and epidemiology to inform evidence-based interventions. Janet works closely with ministries of health and other partners in low and middle countries, and also leads research activities at the intersection of science and policy implementation for Antimicrobial Resistance. Prior to joining Wellcome, Janet was a research scientist at Imperial College, London and the University of Oxford, Big Data Institute; in collaboration with the KEMRI- Wellcome Trust Research Programme where she worked for over 15 years conducting academic research on the genomic epidemiology of malaria. Janet is also a Senior Fellow in Public Health at the Aspen Institute, Washington DC, USA.
Fredros Okumu
Scientifc Advisor, African Scientific Community Engagement – ADN
Fredros Okumu
Scientifc Advisor, African Scientific Community Engagement – ADN
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)
Collen Masimirembwa
President & CEO, African Institute Biomedical Science and Technology
Collen Masimirembwa
President & CEO, African Institute Biomedical Science and Technology
Prof. Collen Masimirembwaa is the founding President and CEO of the African Institute of Biomedical Science and Technology (AiBST) in Zimbabwe. AiBST has a mission to develop life transforming healthcare solutions for Africa. Collen developed the fist registered clinical pharmacogenetic testing panel and dosing algorithm in Africa, GenoPharmR, that is inclusive of genetic variations unique to people of African ancestry. Collen was awarded the GATES Foundation Calestous Juma Award to expand clinical pharmacogenetic testing in Africa and build an ecosystem for drug discovery and development. In drug discovery, he supports the GC-ADDA early lead discovery program with PK/ADME expertise
