AFRICAIN BUILD
Origin language: English
Country
Mali
Cameroon
Ghana
Egypt
Coverage
International
Nb of implementation sites
4
Lead organization
Implementation partners
University of Geneva
Universite de Yaounde I (Cameroon
Ministry of Communications & Information Technology (Egypt)
University of Ghana
Institute of Tropical Medicine (Belgium)
University of Ghana
World Health Organization (WHO) HQ
Universite de Bamako (Mali)
Health Focus Area
Sexual and Reproductive Health
Others
Communicable diseases
Services
Learning and training
Enabling technologies
Software
Standards
N/A
Tools
N/A
Funding sources
Research grants
Business model
No business model
Funders
Summary
AFRICA BUILD has developed a collaborative digital platform specifically for African health researchers and students. This platform merges e-learning, mobility exchange, and knowledge-sharing tools, effectively addressing challenges posed by low bandwidth and offering support in multiple languages (English, French, Arabic, Spanish). The initiative aims to improve access to quality training and research resources, thereby enhancing local capacities of African institutions and promoting international collaboration. Key research areas include HIV/AIDS and reproductive health, with a focus on strengthening health research capacity by 2014. The target population includes health professionals, adults (18+), men, and women, contributing to improved training, knowledge sharing, and regional-international research collaboration in fields such as Sexual and Reproductive Health and communicable diseases.
Keywords
Capacity building
Academic and research
Publications
Creating an African biomedical research community through a social networkEnhancing research capacity of African institutions through social networking.Identifying gaps in health research and training in Africa: designing online surveys for Cloud-oriented trainingAFRICA BUILD: Creating Web 2.0 Communities of Biomedical ResearchersInsights - Lessons learnt
Challenges
AFRICA BUILD faced challenges of limited ICT infrastructure, low bandwidth connectivity, and varying digital literacy levels across partner institutions, which slowed adoption. Sustainability after EU funding was uncertain, highlighting the need for stronger local ownership and integration into national strategies. Language diversity (English, French, Arabic) added complexity but also broadened reach.
Recommendations
• Provide ongoing training and mentoring to strengthen digital skills among researchers and students. • Expand locally relevant content and ensure multilingual support to increase engagement. • Encourage South–South collaboration to build regional ownership and reduce dependency on external partners. • Promote policies that integrate digital health platforms into broader health and education systems for scalability. Positive factors included strong involvement of African universities, WHO, and European research institutions, as well as the use of open-source and low-bandwidth solutions, which supported adoption and demonstrated replicability in resource-constrained settings.
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Any additional questions?
iDHA (Project ID)
dh4xgh
Project links
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/266474/reportingOrigin of information
Project stakeholder
Data source link
N/AAdded to the platform on
2025-10-04
Project editors
Last update by
Sophie Delaigue on 2025-10-04
Number of views
86
WHO classifications
