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Collaboration in East Africa (completed)

This project explored practice and ethics of collaboration in transnational medical research in East Africa.

African man reading a book.

Illustration from the book "Global Health Research in an Unequal world".

Project summary

This anthropological project studied the work of Scientific collaboration around East Africa's two leading research universities, Nairobi and Makerere. 

International collaboration is essential for progress in global health research, and especially for the development of innovative and effective drugs, interventions and vaccines, as well as for the sustainable implementations of research findings under diverse epidemiological and health systems conditions.

Such collaboration operates across stark differences in medical, technical, educational, and socio-economic conditions, which in themselves are often key to the health problems global health research is about. Hence, collaboration is at times challenging work,which in addition to scientists, involves local technicians, laboratories and health providers, research participants and their communities, local Publics and media, and ethicists, policy makers and funders.

The study used ethnographic methods, including long-term presence in research sites, observation and conversations, interviews discussions, case studies and surveys, to examine motivations, experiences and perceptions of different stakeholders, the challenges they face, their divergent interests and alliances, and their strategies to create and sustain various models of collaborative research.

Aim

To study the practice of transnational medical research Collaboration around two East African universities, examining stakeholders' motivations, experiences, practices and strategies, in order to ground ethical deliberations and contribute to innovative, sustainable and effective global health Research partnerships.

Financing

The project was funded by the Research Council of Norway.

Published Jan. 9, 2017 11:13 AM - Last modified Dec. 13, 2023 1:11 PM

Participants

Detailed list of participants