Consortium of African and European research institutions secures €1.5 million grant to build capacity for early drug discovery in sub-Saharan Africa

An African and European research consortium receives €1.5 million from the European Union and additional resources from the Swiss government to support the accumulation of knowledge, skills and innovative capacities for drug discovery in sub-Saharan Africa. The associated project “RAFIKI”, which launched in January 2025, will tackle pressing public health challenges and build new avenues for cooperation between African and European researchers.

Sub-Saharan Africa bears a disproportionate burden of global infectious diseases, with significant ramifications for the public health and development of the African continent. Although recent years have seen promising progress for drug discovery in Africa, local research communities still lack sufficient infrastructure to develop tailored solutions for these critical public health needs.

Under the European Union’s Horizon Europe funding scheme, the RAFIKI project – short for “EU-Africa Research Infrastructure Alliance to Foster Infectious Disease research, Knowledge sharing and Innovation” (spelling “rafiki”, Swahili for “friend”) – unites key players from the African and European drug discovery scenes to bring accelerated and sustainable growth to the sub- Saharan African drug discovery community and connect them with global research networks.

Supporting emerging networks for drug discovery in Africa

RAFIKI will complement the Grand Challenges African Drug Discovery Accelerator (GC ADDA). This first-of-its-kind initiative, coordinated by the Holistic Drug Discovery and Development (H3D) Foundation, supports cutting-edge drug discovery research at institutions across Africa to identify new medicines for infectious diseases. Several members of the GC ADDA network are also partners in RAFIKI, allowing RAFIKI to position its holistic capacity building initiatives around existing collaborations.

Building skills and infrastructure

A central mission of RAFIKI is to offer essential training opportunities to sub-Saharan African drug discovery researchers. This investment in training, particularly for early-career researchers, will be pivotal for fostering a highly skilled research ecosystem across Africa. Prof. Richard Amewu of the University of Ghana, discussing the urgent need to enhance local capacities, shared that the planned training opportunities “will close the knowledge gap in drug discovery and prepare [young scientists in Africa] for venturing into drug discovery research.”

Planned opportunities will include in-person workshops at regional research hubs, mentorship programmes for early-career scientists, and fellowship visits for researchers to learn new skills from partner laboratories.

From the perspective of the Zambian research arena, Dr Peter Cheuka of the University of Zambia is keen to “give an opportunity to Zambian scientists [through the RAFIKI project] to contribute to finding solutions to diseases that afflict the country and the entire continent.”

RAFIKI will also establish a small-molecule library and data repository – an effort spearheaded by partners at the H3D Centre at the University of Cape Town and the University of Ghana. Jessica Akester, Project Manager at the H3D Centre, emphasised that “developing robust sample and data management systems at partner institutions will ensure sustainable data integrity and foundational infrastructure to accelerate research across the continent.”

Fostering international partnerships

Through its international network of expertise, RAFIKI promises to strengthen global collaborations and drive impactful research. EU-OPENSCREEN, a European Research Infrastructure Consortium and coordinating institution of RAFIKI, brings in its consortium of 36 European institutions to support drug discovery in Africa and globally.

Dr Bahne Stechmann, Deputy Director of EU-OPENSCREEN, is eager to strengthen EU- OPENSCREEN’s collaborations with African researchers to advance global drug discovery. “Through this initiative, we aim to demonstrate that research infrastructures can have a transformative impact that extends across continents.”

Dr Susan Winks, Chief Operations Officer at the H3D Foundation and leader of the GC ADDA initiative, is further optimistic that RAFIKI will “strengthen the nascent drug discovery ecosystem in Africa, while building stronger connections with European partners in Global Health.”

Dr Elizabeth Kigondu of the Kenya Medical Research Institute, who will focus on establishing a drug discovery hub in Eastern Africa, also noted the RAFIKI consortium’s chance to “cement and enhance the existing collaborations between some African and European institutions, to find health solutions that not only impact the African continent but the rest of the world.” The Director General of KEMRI, Prof. Elijah Songok, is “proud to support Dr. Elizabeth Kigondu in her efforts to establish a drug discovery hub in Eastern Africa,” noting that “this initiative represents a significant step toward building Africa’s capacity to develop medicines and therapies tailored for our populations.”

By connecting partners internationally, RAFIKI will enable critical discussions with external stakeholders and potential funders, as emphasised by Suze Farrell of the Drug Discovery Unit at the University of Dundee: “Combined with infrastructure development and stakeholder engagement, the RAFIKI award will help accelerate the growth of drug discovery in the African continent.”

Alice Neequaye of the Equitable Partnership platform at Medicines for Malaria Venture added: “The challenges faced by infectious disease researchers globally require collaborative efforts, shared expertise, and equitable access to training and infrastructure. By empowering the next generation of African drug discovery researchers, RAFIKI aims to advance science that benefits everyone.”

The RAFIKI consortium comprises EU-OPENSCREEN, headquartered in Berlin, Germany; the H3D Foundation in Cape Town, South Africa; the University of Dundee Drug Discovery Unit, Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom; the University of Ghana in Accra, Ghana; the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Nairobi, Kenya; Stellenbosch University in Stellenbosch, South Africa; the H3D Centre, University of Cape Town in Cape Town, South Africa; the University of Zambia in Lusaka, Zambia; and the Medicines for Malaria Venture in Geneva, Switzerland.

The leads for each of the partners in RAFIKI at the kick-off meeting held in Accra March 2025

Published 8th April 2025