Uniting Science and Strategy: Reflections on EDCTP Forum 2025
The 12th EDCTP Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, gathered scientists, funders, and policymakers to advance global health research equity. Under the theme “Partnerships for Global Health Research Equity,” sessions explored malaria vaccines, TB prevention, digital innovation, and epidemic preparedness. The Forum highlighted Africa’s leadership in research, the power of Africa-Europe collaboration, and the importance of inclusive technologies. Regional networks like GenEpi showcased how genomic surveillance and data sharing are transforming outbreak response across the continent.
Uganda meeting debates data standards for malaria
A landmark meeting in Uganda brought together global experts to tackle the challenges of data standards for malaria genomics. Hosted by PHA4GE and the Africa CDC’s Africa PGI, the event highlighted how critical data standardisation, sharing, and infrastructure are to advancing molecular surveillance of malaria in Africa. Despite hurdles like funding gaps and data sensitivity, participants agreed that improving data systems is essential for effective malaria control and elimination.
Bioinformatics conference seeks to make a real difference to disease outbreaks
At the 2025 ISCB-Africa ASBCB Bioinformatics Conference in Cape Town, UWC’s Professor Alan Christoffels urged students to bridge the gap between academic research and public health. Highlighting the role of bioinformatics and genomics in disease response, Christoffels emphasized the need for data standards, cross-border collaboration, and real-world impact in managing outbreaks across Africa and beyond.
New PHA4GE course plays to different learning styles
At the ISCB-Africa ASBCB Conference, Keaghan Brown presented PHA4GE’s new online course on wastewater surveillance, designed to integrate genomics, bioinformatics, and diverse learning styles. Developed with Farzaana Diedericks, the course uses an avatar-led format to teach real-time pathogen tracking through wastewater monitoring—enhancing public health capacity in Africa and globally.
Scripps’ Joshua Levy visits the Secretariat offices
Dr Joshua Levy, project scientist at Scripps Research in the US, visited the PHA4GE Secretariat hub at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) at the end of March.
Short Europe trip strengthens PHA4GE connections
Professor Alan Christoffels’ whirlwind three-day trip to Switzerland and Germany in March proved a productive one as it lay the groundwork for exciting new ventures for global bioinformatics and for PHA4GE.
PHA4GE gathers to talk malaria data standards in New Orleans
PHA4GE kicked off work on malaria genomics data standards at ASTMH 2024 in New Orleans, where Alan Christoffels and Tracey Calvert-Joshua presented a funding proposal on metadata collection.
SANBI and PHA4GE contribute to biodata curation
The Africa CDC hosted its second data-curation workshop in Addis Ababa, building capacity for high-quality pathogen data sharing via the Agari platform. Experts from PHA4GE, SANBI, and NCBI led the training to enhance public health data use.
Member Profile – Rito Mikhari-Chauke
Rito is a Bioinformatician at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (South Africa), specializing in bacterial pathogen genomics and public health. Passionate about bridging medical microbiology and public health, she explores metagenomic approaches for meningitis pathogen sequencing.
PHA4GE doing its bit in new global wastewater initiative
Prof. Alan Christoffels joined the GLOWACON Regional Conference in Addis Ababa, supporting efforts to integrate wastewater monitoring into public health systems worldwide.