Transforming Pharmaceutical
Education Across Africa
A four-year, €1.4 million EU-funded initiative uniting six leading institutions to advance pharmaceutical and health sciences through intra-African mobility and collaborative research.
Project Overview
Challenges in accessing pharmaceutical agents for infectious and non-infectious diseases across Africa have far-reaching implications, including high mortality and morbidity, reduced life expectancy and productivity, and perpetuating cycles of poverty and underdevelopment. The lack of adequate health and pharmaceutical preparedness has hindered effective responses to these health crises. The project "Enhancing Postgraduate Excellence in Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences through Intra-African Mobility (EXCEL-PHARM)" seeks to enhance human capacity, promote innovation, and foster collaboration among African universities in line with the EU's vision of sustainable, inclusive development in health for Africa.
The project will provide capacity-building programmes for postgraduate students and researchers. The University of Cape Coast, Ghana, will offer training in microbiology, immunology, and drug discovery. Makerere University, Uganda, brings public health, health sciences and pharmacology programmes, the University of Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegal, will give the opportunity for capacity building in pharmaceutical sciences, the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, will bring to the consortium training in One Health, leadership in healthcare and pharmaceutical and Medicinal chemistry. Stellenbosch University, South Africa, offers consortium partners access to advanced laboratories for training students and faculty in medical microbiology, cytopathology, and molecular and human genetics.
Institutions
Our Mission
To enhance the quality and relevance of postgraduate education in pharmaceutical and health sciences across Africa through collaborative research, training mobility, and knowledge exchange among leading academic institutions.
Our Vision
To establish a sustainable pan-African network of excellence in pharmaceutical and health sciences education that produces highly skilled professionals capable of addressing Africa's most pressing health challenges.
Key Objectives
Driving pharmaceutical education excellence through targeted strategic initiatives
Scholarship Provision
Provide 37 scholarships for Master students, doctoral candidates, trainees, and staff members across the consortium.
Academic Mobility
Facilitate intra-African academic mobility and meaningful knowledge exchange between institutions.
Research Capacity
Strengthen research capacity in pharmaceutical and health sciences across partner institutions.
Collaborative Partnerships
Foster sustainable collaborative partnerships across West, East, and Southern Africa.
Health Innovation
Contribute to addressing health challenges through innovative pharmaceutical solutions.
Sustainable Impact
Build lasting institutional capacity and sustainable networks beyond the project lifetime.
Project Structure
A dedicated team of academics and administrators spanning six institutions across Africa and Europe
Project Coordinator
Member Institution Leads
Prof.
Andrew Livex Okwi
Coordinator/Member
Makerere University
Department of Pathology, College of Health Sciences
Prof.
Andrew Whitelaw
Coordinator/Member
Stellenbosch University
Division of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Prof.
Daprim Ogaji
Coordinator/Member
University of Port Harcourt
Africa Centre of Excellence in Public Health & Toxicological Research (ACE-PUTOR)
Prof.
Rokhaya Ndiaye
Coordinator/Member
Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar
Department of Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto-Stomatology
EU Technical Partner Team
Core Values
Principles that guide our work and partnerships
Collaboration
Working together across borders
Innovation
Advancing pharmaceutical research
Excellence
Maintaining highest standards
Sustainability
Building lasting impact
Impact
Creating real-world change
Join Our Mission
Be part of Africa's pharmaceutical education transformation