23/03/2026
Last week, our team, led by our Executive Director Marie Michele UMULISA, conducted a 5-day strategic working visit in Nairobi, engaging with key actors across the clinical research ecosystem.
During that week, one thing became clear: the future of clinical research in Africa will be built through stronger and more intentional partnerships.
We were pleased to reconnect with our existing partners:
💠 IQVIA: Discussions focused not only on expanding our collaboration but also reaffirmed the importance of continued alignment as we work together to address evolving global health challenges through research.
💠 Novartis: Conversations centered on our ongoing collaboration in malaria-oriented studies while also highlighting opportunities to expand collaboration into other projects of mutual interest.
💠 Clinical Research Health Network (CREA-N): A visit to their site in Machakos reiterated our joint commitment to “peer-to-peer” collaboration as one of the most effective drivers of sustainable capacity building. We also exchanged on opportunities for multi-site studies and discussed harmonization of practices and knowledge-sharing across the consortium.
We also initiated promising conversations with:
🔸 Aga Khan University Clinical Research Unit: We identified strong alignment on clinical research capacity building, training, mentorship, and potential future research collaboration.
🔸 Science for Africa Foundation: Our exchanges focused on advancing Africa-led research and strengthening the clinical research ecosystem.
These engagements highlighted a shared commitment to:
🔹 Advancing Africa-led research efforts
🔹 Strengthening regional collaboration
🔹 Centering communities in research design and implementation
We now look forward to translating these discussions into concrete collaborations that advance impactful research across the region.
