Submitted by Anna Davies on Fri, 10/01/2014 - 16:46
The Wellcome Trust - Cambridge Centre for Global Health Research (CCGHR) was launched on 13th November in Robinson College. Representantives from core partners, including Professsor Nelson Sewankambo from Makerere Unviersity, Uganda, Professor Pontiano Kaleebu from the Uganda Virus Research Institute were present to see the start of a 5 year programme dedicated towards supporting researchers working in public health and tropical medicine to develop their careers, and fostering interchange between institutions in the UK and those based in low- and middle-income countries.
Scientific infrastructure, research training and mentorship are weak and under-resourced in many parts of Africa, contributing to a failure to apply modern technologies and medical advances to the health challenges still facing much of the continent. Because of these many difficulties, the Centre in Cambridge will be working with researchers in parts of Africa.
The Cambridge Centre plans to capture and capitalise on the extensive basic biomedical and health-related research capacity across many departments and research institutes in Cambridge. They will make this fully available for research capacity building and knowledge exchange partnerships with African universities and institutes, as a means of improving the health and welfare of those in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).
Professor David Dunne, Director of the Cambridge Centre, said: “The strengthening of Africa’s indigenous scientific research base is crucial to the identification of its disease control and public health priorities, to the discovery and successful application of appropriate solutions, as well as to overall development.
“Our aim is to use Cambridge’s outstanding research capabilities and influence to support the development of African biomedical science and global health research through co-coordinated, cross-faculty research strengthening and scientific training activities, and collaborative research partnerships.”
Professor Sharon Peacock, Deputy Director of the Cambridge Centre and Chair of the Cambridge Infectious Diseases Initiative, said: “This award is indicative of the gains already made through THRiVE and other initiatives in Cambridge in creating effective exchange partnerships with African universities and institutes, and provides important strengthening to the infrastructure in Cambridge that will be required to support further development of this programme.”
