Developing Africa’s future neuroscientists

In a groundbreaking move towards understanding and nurturing early-life brain development in Africa, the Aga Khan University Institute for Human Development (IHD) has launched the African Leadership for Measuring Brain Health in Children and Adolescents (ALMA) consortium. This pioneering initiative aims to study early-life brain development within the African context to identify the needs of African children and ensure their optimal development.

The ALMA project is designed to address three key challenges currently impeding progress in the field. First, there is a significant lack of locally generated evidence to inform interventions tailored to the African context. Second, there’s a shortage of trained experts in the field of neuroscience, particularly female scientists. Finally, a lack of centers of excellences in the field of neurosciences with a focus of child and adolescent development across the African continent.

Speaking at the launch, Professor Amina Abubakar, IHD Director and ALMA co-director emphasized the vision behind ALMA, “Our goal is to cultivate the next generation of African research leaders with a deep understanding of the science of the young brain. We need highly trained research scientists, and high quality research evidence to advise policy and practice and we also need to establish centers of excellence in neuroscience to provide the right research environment for talented African scientists to do their work.”

The ALMA initiative’s strategy is based on four key principles. For starters, it seeks to advance neuroscience in Africa by bringing the latest knowledge and approaches to the forefront. Second, the project is committed to training African research scientists, with a specific focus on mentoring female neuroscientists. Third, ALMA aims to leverage the existing infrastructure of the institutions implementing the project to establish high-quality neuroscience centers of excellence across the continent. Finally, the project highlights the need of fostering a research culture through dissemination of findings, engagement with policymakers, and involvement of stakeholders in government and local communities.

“The ALMA initiative marks the beginning of a journey that holds immense promise for the future of our children on the African continent,” said Mr. Joel Kamoko, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education in Zambia. “The project aligns with policy priorities in many African countries, including Zambia, where there is a concerted effort to promote the participation of women in science.”

The ALMA project is a collaborative effort between the Aga Khan University Institute for Human Development and Institute for the Neurosciences-the University of Cape Town (South Africa) , the University of Zambia, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (Malawi), the Centre of Genomic Medicine – Massachusetts General Hospital (USA) and the University of Oxford (UK). The project is funded by the Science for Africa Foundation with support from Wellcome and the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development.