Developing excellence in biostatistics leadership, training and science in Africa: How the Sub-Saharan Africa Consortium for Advanced Biostatistics (SSACAB) training unites expertise to deliver excellence

Tobias F Chirwa; Zvifadzo Matsena Zingoni; Pascalia Munyewende; Samuel O Manda; Henry Mwambi; Ngianga-Bakwin Kandala; Samson Kinyanjui; Taryn Young; Eustasius Musenge; Jupiter Simbeye; Patrick Musonda; Michael Johnson Mahande; Patrick Weke; Nelson Owuor Onyango; Lawrence Kazembe; Nazarius Mbona Tumwesigye; Khangelani Zuma; Nonhlanhla Yende-Zuma; Marie-Claire Omanyondo Ohambe; Emmanuel Nakua Kweku; Innocent Maposa; Birhanu Ayele; Thomas Achia; Rhoderick Machekano; Lehana Thabane; Jonathan Levin; Marinus J C Eijkemans; James Carpenter; Charles Chasela; Kerstin Klipstein-Grobusch; Jim Todd

doi:10.12688/aasopenres.13144.2

Developing excellence in biostatistics leadership, training and science in Africa: How the Sub-Saharan Africa Consortium for Advanced Biostatistics (SSACAB) training unites expertise to deliver excellence

AAS Open Res. 2020 Dec 22:3:51. doi: 10.12688/aasopenres.13144.2. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Tobias F Chirwa¹, Zvifadzo Matsena Zingoni¹, Pascalia Munyewende¹, Samuel O Manda^{1

2

3

4}, Henry Mwambi³, Ngianga-Bakwin Kandala¹, Samson Kinyanjui⁵, Taryn Young⁶, Eustasius Musenge¹, Jupiter Simbeye⁷, Patrick Musonda⁸, Michael Johnson Mahande⁹, Patrick Weke¹⁰, Nelson Owuor Onyango¹⁰, Lawrence Kazembe¹¹, Nazarius Mbona Tumwesigye¹², Khangelani Zuma^{1

13}, Nonhlanhla Yende-Zuma¹⁴, Marie-Claire Omanyondo Ohambe¹⁵, Emmanuel Nakua Kweku¹⁶, Innocent Maposa¹, Birhanu Ayele⁶, Thomas Achia¹⁷, Rhoderick Machekano⁶, Lehana Thabane¹⁸, Jonathan Levin¹, Marinus J C Eijkemans¹⁹, James Carpenter²⁰, Charles Chasela^{1

21}, Kerstin Klipstein-Grobusch^{1

19}, Jim Todd²⁰

Affiliations

¹ Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2193, South Africa.
² Department of Statistics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
³ School of Mathematics, Statistics & Computer Science, University of KwaZulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
⁴ Biostatistics Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa.
⁵ Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi, Kenya.
⁶ Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
⁷ Mathematical Sciences Department, Chancellor College, University of Malawi, Zomba, Malawi.
⁸ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
⁹ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Public Health, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Moshi, Tanzania.
¹⁰ School of Mathematics, College of Biological and Physical Science, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.
¹¹ Department of Statistics and Population Studies,, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia.
¹² Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
¹³ Human and Social Capabilities (HSC) Research Division, Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa.
¹⁴ Statistics and Data Management, Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), Durban, South Africa.
¹⁵ Biostatistics, Doctoral School, Institut Superieur Des Techniques Medicales De Kinshasa (ISTM), Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
¹⁶ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana.
¹⁷ Division of Global HIV & TB (DGHT), United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, KEMRI Campus, Kisumu, Kenya.
¹⁸ Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
¹⁹ Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
²⁰ Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
²¹ Research statistics, Right to Care, Pretoria, South Africa.

Abstract

The increase in health research in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has led to a high demand for biostatisticians to develop study designs, contribute and apply statistical methods in data analyses. Initiatives exist to address the dearth in statistical capacity and lack of local biostatisticians in SSA health projects. The Sub-Saharan African Consortium for Advanced Biostatistics (SSACAB) led by African institutions was initiated to improve biostatistical capacity according to the needs identified by African institutions, through collaborative masters and doctoral training in biostatistics. SACCAB has created a critical mass of biostatisticians and a network of institutions over the last five years and has strengthened biostatistics resources and capacity for health research studies in SSA. SSACAB comprises 11 universities and four research institutions which are supported by four European universities. In 2015, only four universities had established Masters programmes in biostatistics and SSACAB supported the remaining seven to develop Masters programmes. In 2019 the University of the Witwatersrand became the first African institution to gain Royal Statistical Society accreditation for a Biostatistics Masters programme. A total of 150 fellows have been awarded scholarships to date of which 123 are Masters fellowships (41 female) of whom 58 have already graduated. Graduates have been employed in African academic (19) and research (15) institutions and 10 have enrolled for PhD studies. A total of 27 (10 female) PhD fellowships have been awarded; 4 of them are due to graduate by 2020. To date, SSACAB Masters and PhD students have published 17 and 31 peer-reviewed articles, respectively. SSACAB has also facilitated well-attended conferences, face-to-face and online short courses. Pooling of limited biostatistics resources in SSA combined with co-funding from external partners has shown to be an effective strategy for the development and teaching of advanced biostatistics methods, supervision and mentoring of PhD candidates.

Keywords: DELTAS; SSACAB; biostatistics; capacity building; networks and partnerships; programme achievements; sub-Saharan Africa.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) through the DELTAS Africa Initiative [DEL-15-005]. The DELTAS Africa Initiative is an independent funding scheme of the AAS’s Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) and supported by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development Planning and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency) with funding from the Wellcome Trust [107754/Z/15/Z] and the U.K. government. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AAS, NEPAD Agency, Wellcome Trust or the U.K. government. Support by GSK Africa Non-Communicable Disease Open Lab through the DELTAS Africa Sub-Saharan African Consortium for Advanced Biostatistics (SSACAB) training programme is greatly acknowledged. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of GSK.