Research with and in Africa
An overview of projects, partners and topics
The fight against fatal infectious diseases requires research. There are still many unanswered questions concerning bacteria, viruses and parasites – and there is a lack of effective medication. In the DFG's "Africa Initiative", teams made up of African and German researchers are addressing these questions. The participation of researchers from the affected countries and support in the establishment of native research capacities ("capacity building") are central concerns of the DFG in the initiative. But the DFG promotes cooperation with Africa in other contexts as well.
This dossier provides insight into topics, projects and partners.
Around 150 German and African scientists met in Bad Honnef on 28-30 June to discuss the future of research funding in Africa
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In the DFG's "Africa Initiative", teams made up of African and German researchers are studying, in particular, the so-called "neglected diseases".
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Private lecturer Minka Breloer works in the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine and is junior partner in the "Analysis of Host-Parasite Cross-Talk Based on the Bovine Model for Human Onchocerciasis, Onchocerca Ochengi" project. An interview with the researcher.
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Professor Christian Drosten studies corona viruses and their transmission by bats. An interview with the researcher.
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Professor Marc Jacobsen works in the area of paediatric infectology. His project: "Immune polarization in childhood tuberculosis: the role of helminthic co-infection". An interview with the researcher.
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The pathogen responsible for hepatitis B is among the most common pathogens in the world. Researchers are also studying this disease within the scope of the Africa Initiative.
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The DFG Priority Programme "Adaption and Creativity in Africa – Technologies and Significations in the Production of Order and Disorder" considers the multifaceted challenge with which the African continent is faced. The programme is organised under the patronage of former German President Horst Köhler.
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What causes people to inflict violence on one another? Studying this and similar questions is Professor Thomas Elbert in the research project "Psychobiology of Human Violence and the Readiness to Kill".
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German - African cooperative projects in infectology
First call for proposals (2007): 91 draft proposals, 37 proposals, 16 projects
Second call for proposals (2008): 32 draft proposals, 19 proposals, 9 projects
Third call for proposals (2010): 53 draft proposals
25 approvals to date with participants from 16 African countries
