UNESCO [to 17 October 2015]
http://en.unesco.org/news

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15.10.2015 – Natural Sciences Sector
A new approach to research for health to combat infectious diseases in Africa
The burden of infectious diseases continues to be disproportionately high in some African countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, with significant impacts on health and socio-economic development. However, the difficulties in applying scientific research to improve health are particularly acute in the region. Creating an enabling political environment and building capacity for life sciences and health research are fundamental to improving people’s wellbeing across the continent. This will be the focus of the Africa Research Summit organized by UNESCO and Merck that will be live-streamed on 19-20 October 2015 from Geneva.

There is currently a lack of international resources dedicated to regional health needs and a shortage of expenditure on health research. The need to support research in order to address the challenges of infectious disease is recognized in the recently adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as Target 3.b: “Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and non-communicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries”. This year’s Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine, awarded to research on infectious diseases, is another strong message, shining a light on health-related issues that can only be addressed adequately when countries have built a strong scientific research environment to support discoveries, inventions, and innovations.

The Africa Research Summit is part of an effort to build the capacities of African researchers in the life and medical sciences and thus, support the improvement of health systems in Africa. There are two key areas which must be addressed. Firstly, the lack of local capacity in the life sciences to perform high-quality research on neglected health needs. Secondly, the ineffectiveness of current mechanisms for translating research into health solutions, which can be disseminated to those most in need. The 2015 Summit will focus on the role of building capacities in the life sciences to address challenges of infectious diseases, most notably the Ebola crises…