Projects
The WANIDA COVID -19 research group is made up of 7 representatives from African CEA Centers of Excellence:
- Dr. Peter Quashie, WACCBIP
- Dr. Onike Folarin, ACEGID
- Dr. Mariama Diallo, CEA-PCMT
- Dr. Etienne Bilgo, ITECH-MTV
- Dr. Junaid Kabir, ACENTDFB
- Dr. Isah Abubakar Aliyu, ACEPHAP
- Dr. Emmanuel Ogbadoyi, ACEMFS
- Scientific advisor for WANIDA: Dr. Nicaise Ndam, IRD
- Regional coordinator for the ACE partnership: Dr. Mamadou Diallo, IRD
- WANIDA network coordinator: Mme Olivia Koupaki, WACCBIP, IRD
Group COVID-19 research group
The WANIDA COVID -19 research group is made up of 7 representatives from African CEA Centers of Excellence:
- Dr. Peter Quashie, WACCBIP
- Dr. Onike Folarin, ACEGID
- Dr. Mariama Diallo, CEA-PCMT
- Dr. Etienne Bilgo, ITECH-MTV
- Dr. Junaid Kabir, ACENTDFB
- Dr. Isah Abubakar Aliyu, ACEPHAP
- Dr. Emmanuel Ogbadoyi, ACEMFS
- Scientific advisor for WANIDA: Dr. Nicaise Ndam, IRD
- Regional coordinator for the ACE partnership: Dr. Mamadou Diallo, IRD
- WANIDA network coordinator: Mme Olivia Koupaki, WACCBIP, IRD
Objectives
- Develop research ideas and projects (encourage collaboration of at least 2 CEAs per project, favor multi-center projects that can be replicated across the network in each country).
- Write proposals and obtain additional grants that will help strengthen the research development activities of the WANIDA network.
-Collaborate within the network and with other higher education and government research institutions.
- Encourage joint publications.
Immediate efforts against COVID-19
- Combat the current COVID-19 pandemic.
- Draw on the network's wealth of expertise and partnerships to conduct research on COVID-19 in partner countries.
- Emphasis will be placed on:
> serological studies to characterize the immune response to infection,
> sequencing and metagenomic analyses to track the evolution of the virus and its pathogenesis,
> health systems research to assess the dynamics of knowledge and practices.
In October 2020, the network created the WANIDA COVID -19 research group to coordinate SARS-nCov-2 research in the sub-region.
The group held its first meeting in November 2020 and has met regularly to develop several projects.
Each project was transprently evaluated by the management team. 5 projects have been selected and are mobilizing funding for:
- Seroprevalence study of SARS-CoV-2 in Niger State, Nigeria using the surrogate virus neutralization assay (ACEPHAP).
- Sero-epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in North-West Nigeria (ACEMFS)
- Investigating the determinants of the spread of COVID-19 in rural West Africa using blood-fed mosquitoes (ITECH-MTV)
- Investigating the impact of COVID-19 during pregnancy in West Africa (Noguchi, WACCBIP, ITECH- MTV, ACEPHAP, ACENTDFB)
- Molecular epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in West African countries: sequencing and metagenomic analyses to monitor the evolution and pathogenesis of the virus (WANIDA multi-center project - Burkina, Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea).