Since 2008, the African Network for Drugs and Diagnostics Innovation -ANDI has become an important part of the health innovation landscape in Africa. With the mission of promoting and
sustaining African led health innovation to address the health needs of the poor, ANDI has created global awareness on the needs and opportunities for innovations in Africa, established fora for African healthcare st
akeholders (institutions, researchers, donors, policy makers, and entrepreneurs), initiated the recognition of pan-African Centres of Excellence as well as the implementation of several collaborative projects and partnerships across the continent. ANDI’s Mission
ANDI’s mission is to promote and sustain African-led health innovation to address the continent’s health needs through the assembly of collaborative networks and the building of capacity to support public health and economic development. ANDI’s Vision
ANDI’s vision is to create a sustainable platform for health innovation in Africa to address the health challenges of the continent and populations in need. ANDI focuses on addressing Africa’s health needs by harnessing the untapped power of collaboration among African researchers and entrepreneurs, as well as equitable North-South and South-South partnerships. Value Proposition
Consistent with lessons learned and market gaps, ANDI focuses on translating local technologies from laboratories to markets. ANDI fills a major void in promoting local collaboration towards health R&D and technology development aimed at solving the basic health challenges of the African continent. An analysis of collaboration patterns of African institutions by ANDI from 2004 – 2009 shows that African institutions are not working together in a concerted way to solve the continent’s health challenges due to a lack of coordination and financing, among other factors. The latest landscape analysis, covering the period from 2010 to 2015, goes further to show that leading African institutions can make a significant impact on health care delivery if they are networked together to solve the health challenges of the continent. ANDI offers a clear understanding of the medical needs, ongoing health R&D and innovation activities and capabilities, as well as pan-African due diligence on ongoing innovations. Through its various initiatives involving mapping the R&D landscape, pan-African COEs, Innovation Awards, and regional hubs, as well as project identification, fellowships, and training, ANDI could determine R&D programs that could lead to potential products that meet the needs of the African population. ANDI’s pan-African granting experience has allowed ANDI access to and a better understanding of the state of science across over 50 countries. No other organization has this breadth of geographical reach in healthcare science across the entire continent. It is worth noting here that the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) has recently collaborated with the Wellcome Trust and the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) to establish Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) as a platform to support capacity building funding. While ANDI and AAS/AESA both address capacity building and are collaborating and sharing lessons in a complementary and synergistic way, ANDI’s unique role in the brokerage of partnerships for local technology development and market entry stands out. It should also be noted that no single organization in Africa or globally can solve the significant challenges in health R&D, technology development, and access in Africa. However, organizations collectively can make a significant impact.
