Abstract
The increase in health research in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has led to a high demand for biostatisticians to develop study designs, contribute and apply statistical methods in data analyses. Initiatives exist to address the dearth in statistical capacity and lack of local biostatisticians in SSA health projects. The Sub-Saharan African Consortium for Advanced Biostatistics (SSACAB) led by African institutions was initiated to improve biostatistical capacity according to the needs identified by African institutions, through collaborative masters and doctoral training in biostatistics. SACCAB has created a critical mass of biostatisticians and a network of institutions over the last five years and has strengthened biostatistics resources and capacity for health research studies in SSA. SSACAB comprises 11 universities and four research institutions which are supported by four European universities. In 2015, only four universities had established Masters programmes in biostatistics and SSACAB supported the remaining seven to develop Masters programmes. In 2019 the University of the Witwatersrand became the first African institution to gain Royal Statistical Society accreditation for a Biostatistics Masters programme.A total of 150 fellows have been awarded scholarships to date of which 123 are Masters fellowships (41 female) of whom 58 have already graduated. Graduates have been employed in African academic (19) and research (15) institutions and 10 have enrolled for PhD studies. A total of 27 (10 female) PhD fellowships have been awarded; 4 of them are due to graduate by 2020. To date, SSACAB Masters and PhD students have published 17 and 31 peer-reviewed articles, respectively. SSACAB has also facilitated well-attended conferences, face-to-face and online short courses. Pooling of limited biostatistics resources in SSA combined with co-funding from external partners has shown to be an effective strategy for the development and teaching of advanced biostatistics methods, supervision and mentoring of PhD candidates.
Highlights
22 Dec 2020 version 1University of Oxford, Any reports and responses or comments on the article can be found at the end of the article
Biomedical research plays a key role in strengthening health systems, identifying and addressing health needs, and in improving health through building a local evidence base which helps to inform policy and practice (Agnandji et al, 2012; Franzen et al, 2017)
There data generation from donor-funded health sciences research initiatives has increased in the past decade, which has been matched by increased governmental funding for healthcare from most African countries (Gezmu et al, 2011)
Summary
University of Oxford, Any reports and responses or comments on the article can be found at the end of the article. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AAS, NEPAD Agency, Wellcome Trust or the U.K. government. Support by GSK Africa Non-Communicable Disease Open Lab through the DELTAS Africa Sub-Saharan African Consortium for Advanced Biostatistics (SSACAB) training programme is greatly acknowledged. Publication in AAS Open Research does not imply endorsement by the AAS
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