Insights and recommendations of African stakeholders on biocontrol technologies for malaria control
Who we are - African Conversations is an independent African-led initiative that brings together diverse African stakeholders to reflect on emerging health issues and technologies, identify local needs, and ensure that innovations serve African populations effectively and ethically.
African Conversations is an independent, African-led initiative that brings together diverse African stakeholders to reflect on health priorities, local needs, and new and emerging solutions to health challenges, including evolving technologies. Grounded in the belief that Africans are deeply informed about their health realities and what is likely or unlikely to work within their contexts, the initiative creates inclusive spaces for researchers, policymakers, regulators, youth, community gatekeepers, and other stakeholders to identify local health needs, share insights, experiences, and concerns, and critically reflect on proposed solutions. African Conversations works to ensure that Africans are actively, adequately, and meaningfully involved in decisions about health solutions relevant to Africa, particularly those involving new technologies, so that innovation is well understood, contextually appropriate, and serves African populations effectively and ethically.
To elevate the voices of key African stakeholders through inclusive dialogue that clarifies health challenges and priorities, and ensures that new solutions are well understood, locally relevant, and grounded in African contexts.
A future where health innovations for Africa are shaped through African leadership and grounded in local contexts, needs, and realities.
African Conversations works across the African continent. To date, the initiative has engaged stakeholders from over 25 African countries through varying levels of dialogue and consultation. Going forward, the initiative will maintain a continental perspective while focusing on deeper, more sustained engagement in a smaller number of countries.
Our research engagement spans across multiple African countries, with varying levels of respondent participation. The map below illustrates the geographic distribution of stakeholders who have contributed to our research on gene drive technologies.
We take time to gather and amplify facts and strategies from experts and policymakers, lived experiences, questions, and challenges from communities, personal stories that offer insight, empathy, and connection.
We bring together the people who matter; those who develop innovations, those who use it, and those who live its consequences. We create respectful, inclusive conversations between technology developers, researchers and scientists, policymakers and institutions, communities, families, and individuals.
We prioritize the voices often left out of health conversations including community members, youth and school children, women, teachers and frontline workers.
We keep our audience informed by sharing research findings, scientific breakthroughs, updates on disease trends and health risks, policy shifts, ethical guidelines, and regulatory changes.
