Around 70 representatives of grant-making institutions, African government and public funding agencies, philanthropic organisations, development finance institutions and regional banks came together at the 5th AHRIFF meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, from 5-7 November. The aim was to create greater alignment between funding agencies investing in Africa and improve understanding of Africa’s health priorities.
Monika Frenzel, The French National Research Agency (ANR) and EP PerMed WP2 lead, presented the development of collaboration in Europe but also internationally since 2013 via the International Consortium for Personalised Medicine, ICPerMed, as policy platform, the ERA PerMed as first funding programme, the ICPerMed Family with their Networking and Mapping activity, and finally the development and role of the European Partnership for Personalised Medicine, EP PerMed. EP PerMed was presented as central joint initiatives that comprehensively pushes Personalised Medicine research, innovation and implementation to inspire global funders and showcase the power of collaborative funding schemes.
Rizwana Mia, Senior Programme Manager at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and Vice-Chair of ICPerMed, presented the EU–Africa PerMed Action Plan, highlighting 26 concrete actions arising from the EU–Africa PerMed collaboration aimed at establishing data-driven, patient-centric health systems. The framework calls for coordinated investment in genomic databases, ethical governance, workforce capacity, and equitable access to precision medicine technologies. She emphasised that while Africa possesses exceptional genetic diversity and research potential, investment must now focus on building population data for translational pipelines including pharmacogenomics and other clinical applications that directly enhance patient outcomes. Furthermore, she launched a call to action, “Moving Precision Medicine in Africa Forward: Priority Areas for Investment,” urging policymakers, funders, and scientific leaders to align efforts and unlock the continent’s full potential in genomics and personalised healthcare innovation.
The meeting created the opportunity for funders to get together and see how synergies can be realised to accelerate the development and deployment of innovative solutions to address Africa’s most pertinent health challenges, particularly in the current funding environment.
The meeting consisted of a mixture of plenary sessions, panel discussions, presentations, in addition to facilitated brainstorming sessions and addressed the following themes:
- A new age of Funding in Africa
- Creating alignment between different types of Funding agencies
- How best can funders leverage historical investments?
- Programmes with increasing funder interests
- Learning about other continents
- Innovative financing models for Africa
- Learning about Major Funding initiatives for 2026
