The EU-Africa PerMed project held its 3rd Stakeholder Workshop on June 26-27, 2024, at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Dakar, Senegal. The event, hosted by L’Institut de Recherche en Santé, de Surveillance Épidémiologique et de Formations (IRESSEF), took place in a hybrid format, bringing together 70 onsite and 22 online participants.
The workshop convened a diverse group of stakeholders, including Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) and health policy makers at national, regional and pan-African levels; European Commission; EU-AU STI High Level Policy Dialogue Bureau; health R&I funding programmes; research organisations; Scientific community; health research networks and Centres of Excellence; and innovators from the biotech and pharmaceutical industries.
The event provided an opportunity to present and discuss the main outputs, findings, and recommendations from the EU-Africa PerMed project, including the EU-Africa PerMed Action Plan. This plan proposes concrete actions at the research and policy level to facilitate collaboration in Personalised Medicine between Africa and Europe.
Panel discussions addressed key actions for African-European collaboration in areas such as population genomics, infrastructure and resources, access to technology and experts, education and training, data collection and sharing, healthcare infrastructure and awareness, and ethical and legal considerations. Keynote lectures highlighted the advantages of cross-border and international collaboration, as well as collaboration in cancer research. Discussions also focused on future recommendations and sustaining the EU-Africa PerMed collaboration beyond the project’s lifetime.
A significant outcome was the support and mentoring for the development of regional Personalised Medicine consortia in different African regions (East, South, West/Central, North, Egypt). The workshop also launched the Dakar Declaration on Europe-Africa collaboration in Personalised Medicine, available in French and English. The declaration emphasizes the critical role of Personalised Medicine in improving healthcare outcomes and the importance of supporting research, fostering regional collaborations, and promoting technological innovations.
More information about this event: https://www.euafrica-permed.eu/3rd-eu-africa-permed-stakeholder-workshop/