Recipient organisationUniversity of GlasgowSource-published name: University of Glasgow
Funding£1.3M
PeriodSept 2022 — Sept 2027
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
A consortium of researchers from Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and the EU will co-develop a low-cost diagnostic and digital decision-support tool for infectious diseases, then integrate it into existing African health infrastructure. This matters because poverty-related infectious diseases—such as malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases—remain a leading cause of death and disability in sub-Saharan Africa. Existing diagnostics are often too expensive, fragile, or slow for rural clinics, and digital health tools are rarely designed for local conditions or linked to national health systems. The project also addresses a gap in research capacity: African scientists and institutions are under-represented in developing the technologies their own populations rely on. If successful, the project will produce a validated, affordable diagnostic device paired with mobile-health software that helps clinicians make treatment decisions. That technology could be adopted by health authorities across the region, improving disease detection and reducing unnecessary antibiotic use. Beyond the device itself, the project will train a cohort of African PhD students, strengthen grant-writing and manufacturing skills, and build lasting research networks between Africa and Europe. The result is not just a new tool, but a more self-sufficient infrastructure for health innovation in sub-Saharan Africa.
View original technical description
The DI-DIDA project's overall objective is to tackle poverty-related infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa by i) strengthening the African research capacities, ii) enhancing technology development in diagnostics and digital technologies in Africa, and iii) encouraging adoption of innovations by sub-Saharan health authorities, clinicians, businesses, and patients. For that, the consortium includes leading partners from four sub-Saharan African countries (Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda) and the EU. To reach our objectives, we will implement a combination of complementary actions: - Joint research projects on infectious diseases co-morbidities, human-livestock interactions, infectious diseases diagnostic technologies, digital health solutions for Africa, and socio-economic factors of innovation adoption by African people. - The co-development of an innovative low-cost diagnostic and digital/mHealth decision support technology and its integration into existing African digital health infrastructure. - Clinical validation studies. - A PhD fellowship for students in Africa with joint PhD awarding by EU counterparts. - Research capacity building (management, grant writing, publications etc.) - Staff exchanges. - Training. - Organisation of citizen and brokerage events targeting businesses and policy makers. - A comprehensive dissemination, exploitation, and communication action plan. The impact of this project will be: - Improved research / technology development and manufacturing / clinical validation capacities in sub-Saharan Africa. - New knowledge gained on several topics related with poverty-related infectious diseases. - Increased international networks and reinforcement of the collaboration between Africa and the EU. - A new low cost diagnostics and decision support technology developed and its adoption fostered by dedicated studies and collaboration with health authorities. - Better informed sub-Saharan populations about to infectious diseases
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