KWTRP Proposal

The challenge

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa face the ongoing challenge of minimising the impact of infectious diseases, using a range of tools at their disposal. With resources limited, it is vital that they focus on priority areas and optimise responses to ensure the greatest impact on disease control.

Infectious disease modelling is becoming central to disease control and decision-making. Modelling can provide policymakers with tools for exploring a wide range of potential scenarios, including how infectious diseases might spread, what impacts they might have, and how different interventions could reduce these impacts. This can enable policymakers to focus efforts on the strategies most likely to be effective.

The use of infectious disease modelling in sub-Saharan Africa is currently held back by a lack of technical expertise. It is also important to raise awareness among policymakers on the potential power of modelling and to strengthen links between researchers and policymakers so that modelling efforts are directed at priority public health challenges and deliver policy-relevant analyses.

The project

The project is strengthening capacity for infectious disease modelling among researchers and policymakers by providing training for English-, French-, and Portuguese-speaking participants.

The programme includes short courses for researchers, focusing on epidemiology, statistical modelling, and advanced mathematical modelling, applied to the dynamics of infectious disease outbreaks and evaluation of intervention strategies. Five intensive two-week courses will be offered, two each in English and French and one in Portuguese, focusing on foundational epidemiology, statistical modelling, and mathematical modelling techniques, which will provide training for 125 researchers during the course of the project.

For policymakers, three one-week courses are being organised, focusing on practical modelling applications and case studies. Up to 15 participants will take part in each course. 

Researchers will also have the opportunity to apply for research fellow placements. These will be embedded in projects addressing priority infectious disease challenges, enabling fellows to learn by doing. Ten such fellowships will be awarded following a competitive process, with projects due to last nine months.

In addition, the project is organising a quarterly seminar series to promote continuous learning and exchange. Seminars will cover practical uses of modelling in areas such as vaccine assessment and control of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Targeted regional workshops will also be arranged to demonstrate the impact of modelling activities. 

The project consortium has a strong background in capacity building and training. To facilitate the use of real-world data in training exercises, the project will utilise Epiverse, a trustworthy data analysis software suite and platform established by European partners.

Impact

The project will significantly expand the pool of infectious disease modellers in sub-Saharan Africa. It will:

• Provide high-quality technical training in infectious disease modelling to a new cohort of researchers.
• Ensure that training is closely integrated with public health needs and policymaker decision-making.
• Raise awareness of modelling among policymakers and strengthen links with academic experts with modelling experience.

Ultimately, greater modelling expertise will enable policymakers to draw on local specialists and make more use of local data to enhance disease control efforts and the use of resources.