MARCAD hosts the DELTAS Africa Scientific Conference 2019

Through the MARCAD programme coordinated by Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (UCAD), Senegal, hosted for the first time, in an african French-speaking country, the scientific conference of the DELTAS Africa programme of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) 2019 in Dakar.

Some 300 participants, mostly health scientists from Africa and around the world attended the DELTAS Africa 2019 scientific conference.

"The DELTAS Africa programme fits perfectly with our goals of excellence in the areas of science, health and future scientific leaders training’’ said Prof Abdoulaye Samb, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine UCAD and Vice-Chancellor of UCAD in his speech.

The Vice-Chancellor also praised the various efforts made in this regard by the University's doctoral schools, giving MARCAD as an illustrious example.

Remarks were made at the opening ceremony, including the President of the African Academy of Sciences, Prof Felix Dapare Dakora, the Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation of Senegal, Prof Cheikh Oumar Hann, Prof Aminata Sall Diallo for the scientific opening speech and representatives of partner organisations such as : Mr Aggrey Ambali, AUDA-NEPAD, Ms Leah Mwai of DFID and Mr Simon Kay, Wellcome Trust.

The scientific meeting provided a forum for sharing the results of innovative research carried out across the African continent by 200 fellows of the 11 programmes, funded by DELTAS Africa to improve population’s health on the African continent.

For this purpose, the fellows and students supervised in the MARCAD programme distinguished themselves during the various oral and poster presentation sessions in which they participated with high-quality presentations of their research results.

‘’ The meeting shows case,  how young people when they are given the opportunity can make significant contributions to the quality of life of the Africans in the continent » said AAS president Prof Dapare, the DELTAS African conference.

The AAS President took the opportunity of the meeting to invite African governments and philanthropists to join them in investing more in science and technology innovation and to support them in training and mentoring future generations of African scientists.

The Director of MARCAD, Prof. Oumar Gaye, expressed his optimism in this regard. Regarding Senegal, he said that Senegalese state authorities have always expressed their support for science through the President of the Republic, who often pleads for science with his African peers and urges them to allocate more resources to research.

"President Sall has taken initiatives in this direction because he is aware that research can advance prevention and treatment policies in Africa," said Prof Oumar Gaye.

Chairing the meeting, Senegal's Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Prof. Sheikh Oumar Hanne, supported Prof. Gaye's remarks by recalling the increase made by the Senegalese government on investments in science and technology to reach 0.7% of GDP by 2020 and 1% of GDP by 2025.

This support and involvement of the government should also extend to solving the problem of gender equity in the scientific field, according to Prof. Aminata Sall Diallo of UCAD.

"If we want to win the challenge of transforming our continent, we must also address the problem of gender asymmetry in science," she said.

In fact, the MARCAD programme  share this vision and its women scientists fellows were well represented at the scientific conference  where they share their experiences with the national and international media present at the meeting.

Continuing on the pleadings made during the scientific conference, the President of the African Academy of Sciences called on DELTAS partners to support more inclusive research.

‘’ The African Academy of Sciences finds important to  increase  the  African  ownership of datas collected and to expand also the  collaboration  with external colleagues;  So I’m here to say that we must work together’’. He said

The scientific conference offered to all participants, free reflection and creative consultation in the development of science.