SOFAR

The challenge

Despite accounting for more than 20% of the global disease burden, sub-Saharan Africa accounts for only around an estimated 2% of global clinical trial activity. This leads to limited representation of African scientists in international research projects and a lack of focus on African health challenges.

A key challenge is the limited health research workforce in sub-Saharan Africa. The region has around 19 health researchers per million population, compared with 304 per million population in Europe.

The project

Focusing on a set of countries in Southern Africa, the SOFAR project is addressing this issue by creating a training programme for promising individuals at different stages of their research career, drawing on the resources available at three centres of excellence in Africa and two European higher education institutions. It will provide a supportive environment for the training of 15 individuals – four master’s students, six PhD students and five postdoctoral scientists. 

The project is also partnering with key organisations within the region, including ministries of health, WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), which will offer placements to students recruited to the programme.

The SOFAR project brings together institutions in Zambia and Zimbabwe with a strong programme of health research and a long track record in research training. It is also taking advantage of opportunities offered by the Wellcome-funded CREATE programme, which is supporting the training of 25 early-career researchers in Africa and includes SOFAR’s Zambian and Zimbabwean institutions.

The SOFAR programme is providing a mix of face-to-face and digital training opportunities, with the creation of a Digital Global Health Academy. An online network is being established to provide programme participants with peer support, while each fellow also benefits from both a supervisor and a mentor. 

In addition, the project will work to strengthen all aspects of fellows’ recruitment, training, mentoring, and counselling, ensuring that application processes are transparent and equitable, and that mentoring meets the needs of fellows. Training is being provided to academic supervisors in sub-Saharan Africa, building the capacity of institutions to nurture the next generation of researchers. 

As well as key technical skills and practices associated with scientific research, such as grant writing, project management and scientific paper development, training will also cover areas such as open access and knowledge exchange, including working with policymakers. 

Impact

The SOFAR project will significantly increase research capacity in Southern Africa. It will:

• Provide comprehensive and high-quality research training to 15 promising scientists at different stages of their research careers.
• Ensure that programme participants gain experience within public health environments.
• Enable postdoctoral scientists to establish themselves as independent researchers.
• Provide opportunities to researchers from Portuguese-speaking as well as English-speaking countries in Southern Africa.
• Strengthen supervisory and mentoring capacity within the region.

Strengthening research capacity in sub-Saharan Africa will ensure that research focuses on the region’s priority health challenges and generates evidence to inform regional policymaking, thereby reducing the disease burden in the region.