African Partner Institutions
Many infections such as malaria, tuberculosis or AIDS are a bigger problem in Africa than they are here. The DZIF scientists are working closely with African partner institutions to research these diseases more intensively where they frequently occur.
In long-term collaborations with four partner institutions in Africa, DZIF scientists are researching preventive measures, new diagnostics, therapies and vaccines for malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and neglected tropical diseases such as worm infections. The facilities in Africa include clinics and research centres in Kumasi (Ghana), Lambaréné (Gabon), Nouna (Burkina Faso) and Mbeya (Tanzania).
„I look forward to longstanding collaborations with the DZIF. There still is a lot to be done.“
In 2017, the laboratories and techniques in all African partner institutions were modernised to a high degree. This encompassed training stuff on new methods, including the initial diagnostics, such as rapid tests for the detection of diarrhoea pathogens, to assess their accuracy. Since the end of 2021, CERMEL, as a clinical research institution in Lambaréné, Gabon, has been using the open-source biobanking tool HEnRY (HIV Engaged Research technologY) developed at the University Hospital Cologne to simplify their biosample documentation. With the comfortable sending of data to the Central Biosample Register (DZIF-ZBR) the effort is low and the output high: documentation and visibility in one step. This strengthens collaborations and fosters the research in DZIF.
The DZIF also participates in the "European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership" (EDCTP). EDCTP is a public-public partnership between countries in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. The programme is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the EDCTP2 programme supported by the European Union.
The African Partner Institutions at a glance
- KCCR – Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine
-
The Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR) in Ghana is an external research and training facility of the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg. The KCCR focuses its research on malaria, tuberculosis, salmonellosis and Buruli ulcer, an infectious disease of the skin and soft tissues common in the tropics.
- CERMEL – Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné
-
At the Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL) in the Central African country of Gabon, scientists mainly conduct research on parasitic diseases such as malaria, schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia), intestinal infections with parasitic worms, tuberculosis and bacterial infections. In collaboration with the University of Tübingen and later also the DZIF, a large number of phase I-III clinical trials have been conducted over the past 30 years for the development of new drugs and vaccines.
- CRSN – Centre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna
-
The Centre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna (CRSN) in Burkina Faso was founded in the early 1990s as a cooperation project between Heidelberg University and the Ministry of Health of Burkina Faso. Joint projects with the DZIF focus on researching and treating malaria, HIV/AIDS and bacterial meningitis.
- NIMR-MMRC – Mbeya Medical Research Center
-
The Mbeya Medical Research Center (MMRC) in Tanzania, one of eight medical research centres of the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), conducts research on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other tropical diseases. Together with the DZIF, the MMRC conducts clinical trials on tuberculosis vaccines and drugs, among other things.
