Last week, I was able to attend the Southern Africa Regional Scientific Workshop in Cape Town, South Africa, where Fogarty International Center LAUNCH fellows (both current and alumni), working in various African countries, gathered to exchange research agendas and progress, discuss shared challenges, lessons-learned, and explore opportunities for future collaborations.
The workshop prioritized partnerships, brainstorming of future ideas, and moving work forward—even in the face of ever-changing funding opportunities and other challenges that may complicate our global health work. One of the highlights of our time in Cape Town was a visit to the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation, where we learned about its trajectory and contributions to improve science and care around HIV and TB not just in South Africa but globally.
Part of the message that came out of this visit and the corresponding session was an important reminder that what we do today is only as valuable as what we do with it tomorrow.
Up until now, my ACHIEVE work, Adapting a nutrition intervention to address low fruits and vegetables intake, a cancer risk, among people living with HIV receiving care in HIV clinics in Uganda, has been laser focused on data collection and day-to-day project activities to launch and complete the research study. Thus, my research exchange has been mostly Kampala focused, with some broader Uganda interactions.
For me, the SARSW has highlighted the benefits of engaging with the research community in the region and the continent. This experience was a welcomed nudge to look up from my study and engage with peers. Our collective capacity is what will help us solve the health challenges we all care so deeply about.
Overall take aways from the workshop:
- Advocate and support true partnerships with colleagues and communities, including making space for communities to drive research questions
- Maximize resources: consider AI, mobile health options, old methods and models have scale-up limitations, and we are in dire need of coverage
- Disseminate does not equal publish – we must also reach participants, their communities, policy makers and our international research communities