African Voices of Science will convene two high-level sessions on Africa’s future in genomics and precision medicine, and women’s leadership in health research and development.
African Voices of Science (AVoS), the continental initiative powered by Speak Up Africa to amplify African health research leadership, will convene two high level sessions at the World Health Summit Regional Meeting (WHSRM) 2026 in Nairobi. Taking place from April 27 to 29 at the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), the summit will bring together leaders, innovators, researchers, policymakers, and development partners from across Africa and beyond under the theme, “Reimagining Africa’s Health Systems: Innovation, Integration, and Interdependence.”
African Voices of Science’s presence at this year’s summit comes at a moment when Africa’s scientific leadership is more necessary than ever. The continent is home to world-class researchers, bold innovators, and some of the most urgent health priorities shaping the future of global health. Yet a baseline study showed that from June 2024—June 2025, African experts accounted for less than 5 percent of global health research, development, and innovation conversations across traditional and social media. African Voices of Science champions an enabling policy environment and greater investment in African‑led research, development, and innovation (RD&I). By amplifying the voices of scientists, researchers, and policy leaders advancing health outcomes across the continent, the initiative ensures that African expertise shapes policy, financing, and public discourse at the highest level.
“If the Accra Reset is to move from commitment to action, domestic resource mobilization for research and development must be part of the conversation. African Voices of Science creates the space for African researchers and policy leaders to connect evidence with financing decisions that strengthen health systems from within the continent.” — Glaudina Loots, Program Manager, Health Innovation at the University of Pretoria, and Director, Special Projects at the South Africa Medical Research Council (SAMRC) (African Voices of Science Champion)
DESIGNING POWER: WOMEN LEADING AFRICA’S HEALTH RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS
The first AVoS session will confront one of the most important and overlooked questions in African health innovation: who gets to shape research priorities, financing decisions, and scientific leadership. Women make up only 31.5 percent of researchers in sub-Saharan Africa and remain
underrepresented in senior leadership, funding decision-making, and priority-setting spaces. This is not only an inclusion gap. It has direct implications for which diseases are prioritised, how clinical trials are designed, whose lived realities are reflected in health solutions, and which innovations ultimately reach scale.
The panel will move the conversation beyond participation and toward power. Speakers including AVoS experts Glaudina Loots, Program Manager for Health Innovation at the University of Pretoria, and Director, Special Projects (SAMRC), and Marième Gueye, Researcher in Biofabrication and Regenerative Medicine at Utrecht University, will engage alongside government policymakers, development finance representatives, and biotech leaders from across the continent. The discussion will also introduce the Women’s Health R&D Scorecard, an African-led accountability tool designed to assess women’s inclusion and leadership across the health research value chain and support concrete reform. The goal is not simply to diagnose the problem, but to help catalyse action that institutions can begin implementing within the next 12 months.
FROM DIALOGUE TO DELIVERY: BUILDING AFRICA’S FUTURE IN GENOMICS AND PRECISION MEDICINE
The second session will focus on one of the most consequential frontiers in modern health research. Africa holds the greatest human genetic diversity in the world, yet African populations remain significantly underrepresented in global genomic studies and reference databases. The consequences are profound: inaccurate diagnoses, misinterpreted findings, and treatments that do not work as effectively for the populations that need them most. Correcting this imbalance is both a scientific imperative and a health equity priority.
This closed leadership roundtable will bring together genomics researchers, government regulators, development finance partners, investors, and global health organisations to identify the most urgent barriers to sustainable genomics infrastructure in Africa and to chart practical pathways forward. African Voices of Science experts Dr. Robert Karanja, Founder and Executive Director of Biolinx Africa, and Prof. David Tea Okou, Clinical Molecular Geneticist and Founder of the Fondation YTO, will anchor the conversation alongside institutional and investment partners. The roundtable is expected to conclude with a shared 24-month roadmap for advancing precision medicine efforts, beginning with Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire as anchor countries, and followed by a networking exchange to deepen collaboration across sectors.
“Sustainable health innovation in Africa depends on strong pan‑African collaboration—aligning investments, pooling resources, and learning from one another. These sessions are designed to translate shared expertise and partnerships into concrete action that accelerates discovery and delivery.” — Dr. Robert Karanja, Founder and Executive Director, Biolinx Africa
By convening these sessions at WHSRM 2026, AVoS is reinforcing a simple but urgent message: Africa should not be treated as a peripheral voice in global health. It is a source of expertise, innovation, and leadership that must help define the future of health systems on the continent and worldwide. In Nairobi, AVoS will place that leadership exactly where it belongs — at the centre of the conversation.
ABOUT AFRICAN VOICES OF SCIENCE (AVOS)
Established in 2020 and powered by Speak Up Africa, African Voices of Science (AVoS) brings together leading scientists, researchers, and policy advocates from Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, and Côte d’Ivoire to amplify African perspectives, influence policy, and drive investment in African-led health solutions. Now in its second edition, AVoS supports the African Union’s vision for health
sovereignty and the Sustainable Development Goals by ensuring Africa’s scientific leadership shapes national, regional, and global health agendas.
ABOUT SPEAK UP AFRICA
Speak Up Africa is an African-led, Africa-based organisation working with leaders and change-makers to solve the continent’s pressing sustainable development challenges. Focusing on strategic communications, policy, and advocacy, it supports African leaders and citizens in developing solutions to challenges including malaria, neglected tropical diseases, immunisation, sanitation, gender equality, and global health R&D. Based in Dakar, Senegal. www.speakupafrica.org
