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European Foundation Centre | www.efc.be
African research
Fondation Mrieux
A quartet for Africa - Foundations to
combat neglected diseases
By Nyegosh Dube, EFC
Terms like OHLVKPDQLDVLVRQFKRFHUFLDVLVDQGKHOPLQWKLDVLV
are not exactly household words. While A0S, malaria and
tuberculosis receive considerable attention and attract
substantial public and private funding, a group of 14 lesser-
known infectious diseases affecting a billion people have
received little of either. A consortium of European foundations
has set out to change this by launching an initiative to
fund research on neglected tropical diseases (NT0s) and on
delivering treatment to those aficted by them. Four EFC
members, the 7olkswagenStiftung, the Fondation Vrieux, the
Fundao Calouste Culbenkian and the Nufeld Foundation, have
come together to set up the African Fellowship Programme on
Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Volkswagen at the wheel
The VolkswagenStiftung dreamt up the
programme and brought the other foun-
dations on board. Since its inception in
1962, the foundation has been committed
to research and higher education, and to
Sub-Saharan Africa since 2003. Our focus
is really on top-notch research, thats what
we do, says Detlef Hanne, Programme
Manager for Volkswagens Africa Initiative.
International peer reviewers who evaluate
research proposals for Volkswagen sug-
gested that the foundation should focus
more on NTDs and African researchers.
Young African researchers, that was the
key because so far research on tropical
diseases in Africa has been dominated by
Northern researchers [We want] to give
the initiative to them because they should
dene what is really necessary to work
on, explains Hanne. High-ranking African
medical researchers were consulted in the
process of designing the programme.
From the outset, Volkswagen chose to put
this initiative on a European platform and
involve foundations from ex-colonial pow-
ers as they have maintained strong relation-
ships with Africa. It contacted foundations
which were particularly interested in or
were involved in health-oriented research
in Africa. The Mrieux, Gulbenkian and Nuf-
eld foundations tted the bill perfectly,
so the consortium came together easily. As
Hanne puts it: I think the overall concept is
quite straightforward. Its pretty clear that
[NTDs are] neglected, [so] theres a niche
for foundation involvementthe concept
was picked up fairly quickly. Coordinat-
ing action between foundations with their
own agendas and boards was a little harder,
but the details were agreed before the pro-
grammes launch.
Health partnerships
Portugals Fundao Calouste Gulbenkian
has a long-standing commitment to de-
velopment issues in Africas Portuguese-
speaking countries. In 2002 it launched a
development aid programme focusing on
health and education. One of its priorities is
health capacity-building. The NTD initiative
is a good opportunity to strengthen the
health research capacity of African institu-
tions [and] contribute to the reinforcement
of the health system, which is one of our
objectives, says Dr Maria Hermnia Cabral,
Deputy Director for Health and Human De-
velopment at Gulbenkian. She also hopes
her foundations participation will make
the initiative more accessible to lusophone
Africa.
Fondation Mrieuxs mission is to ght in-
fectious diseases, including NTDs. It has set
up and supports research institutions in
several African and Asian countries, usually
in collaboration with health ministries, and
has a worldwide network of experts. For
European Foundation Centre | www.efc.be
the Fondation, building up local research
capacity in Africa is essential. Very little
work has been carried out so far [on NTDs]
because they receive relatively little atten-
tion from donors, policy-makers and public
health ocials, observes Martina Gliber,
Programme Manager at Mrieux. We be-
lieve that a reduced NTD burden and eco-
nomic growth are intimately related.
For some time the Nueld Foundation has
been interested in international develop-
ment funding by foundations and has com-
missioned a report on this regarding British
foundations. It has explored building oper-
ational links with its counterparts in conti-
nental Europe. It also runs a Commonwealth
Programme aimed at improving education,
health and social welfare in southern and
eastern Africa. [The fellowship] initiative
therefore provides an opportunity to sup-
port activitiesof interest to Nuelds
trustees and to participate in a European
consortium, says Sarah Lock, Coordinator
of the Commonwealth Programme.
Value added, problem subtracted
Besides the funds that can be marshalled
by a consortium like this, there is substan-
tial added value. [Since] each foundation
has networks [and] we have Portuguese,
French, British participantswe reach a
much broader community in Africa, says
Hanne. Moreover, we have a much broader
impact in Europebecause we have a con-
sortium of quite well-known and respected
foundations Gliber echoes this: I hope
the consortium will show that it is worth-
while to create alliances for better action
that European donors are willing and able
to build coalitions in order to have a loud-
er European voice She also believes a
consortium means more creative ideas
deeper needs identication [and] bigger
networks of experts.
Both Gliber and Hermnia Cabral point out
a major benet of the programme itself: it
combats brain drain. This is indeed one of
the main problems that developing coun-
tries face. Many African researchers leave
their country and never come back once
trained abroad, says Gliber. But she is op-
timistic about the programme, which sup-
ports local researchers in local institutions,
calling it an innovative and promising con-
cept. It is also, in Hermnia Cabrals view,
an opportunity for African researchers that
are developing their work abroad to return
to their home countries and became part
of the development process. Of course, as
Lock points out, the primary benet is that
it ultimately will directly improve peoples
lives.
Getting with the programme
Under the programme, a group of young
African post-doctoral researchers will be
awarded three-year junior fellowships. The
selected fellows will be based at African
research institutions and will undertake
NTD-related biomedical and public health
research projects. Experienced researchers
can apply for extended fellowships. Each
fellow will choose a European research in-
stitution with which to collaborate; if nec-
essary, researchers can go to Europe for
up to a year. There is a two-step selection
process. An initial group will be invited to
make presentations at a conference at the
Charles Mrieux Centre in Bamako, in Mali.
There the candidates will be interviewed
and within a few months up to 20 fellow-
ships will be awarded (90,000 (US$138,000)
each, 140,000 ($214,800) for extended
ones). The selections will be made jointly
with consortium members by a peer review
process.
Looking ahead
Hanne stresses that this
is intended to be a long-
term initiative, with anoth-
er call expected next year
and again in 2011 to give
rst-phase researchers a
chance to advance. But
it doesnt make sense to
promise thingswe have
to see how this works out,
he warns. While Volkswa-
gen is coordinating the
programme in its rst year,
another consortium mem-
ber will take over follow-
ing the conference. Hanne
is also condent that more
foundations will join the
consortium. Looking at
the broader picture, Lock
believes that if the consor-
tium works out well, oth-
er funders may well decide
to support [international] work in this way,
although she doesnt think there is a 'one-
size-ts-all' model for Africa. Consortia of
foundations can make a dierence in tack-
ling serious problems, and can therefore
play an important role in public policy. By
giving voice to forgotten matters, we hope
this [initiative] will raise policy-makers
awareness of [these] neglected issues, says
Hermnia Cabral. Partnership with govern-
ments seems a logical complement to part-
nership between foundations. Gliber sums
it up, the problems we are dealing with are
the same, and common solutions promise
to have more impact.
For further information,
go to: www.ntd-africa.net
ion Centre | www.efc.be ation Centre | www.efc.be
African research
Fondation Mrieux
41 | Eect spring 2008
Top left to bottom right: Martina Gliber, Programme
Manager, Fondation Mrieux; Sara Lock, Commonwealth
Programme Coordinator, The Nuffield Trust; Maria
Herminia Cabral, Deputy Adviser, Fundao Calouste
Gulbenkian; Detlef Hanne, Programme Manager,
VolkswagenStiftung
European Foundation Centre | www.efc.be