Welcome Professor Ann Mwangi

It was a pleasure to welcome Professor Ann Mwangi, one of the Consortium’s Co-Principal Investigators, during her visit to Wits last week, from Moi University in Kenya.

Prof Mwangi was in South Africa as part of the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) November 2025 meeting. CARTA supports the development of a vibrant African academy able to lead world-class multidisciplinary research that impacts positively on public and population health.

During her visit, she highlighted the importance of sustained and wide-ranging training programmes—short courses, seminars, network exchanges, and collaborative supervision—designed to prepare early-career biostatisticians to work confidently with complex datasets.

Africa’s health landscape demands researchers who can generate reliable evidence in environments where data may be sparse, fragmented, or rapidly changing. Biostatistics is the backbone of that evidence. Strengthening local capacity ensures that health questions relevant to African populations are addressed by African scientists, using locally grounded data and methods.

Professor Mwangi emphasised that developing the capacity of emerging African researchers is not a peripheral activity but an essential investment in health systems strengthening. By equipping MSc, PhD, and postdoctoral scholars with advanced analytical skills, mentorship, and opportunities to engage with real-world demographic and health surveillance data, we are cultivating a new generation of experts who can lead rigorous, data-driven research. These activities sit at the heart of SSACAB’s vision to develop research centres of excellence across Sub-Saharan Africa. Professor Mwangi’s leadership and mentorship help ensure that SSACAB- research fellows are equipped not only to analyse data but to influence public health policy, support national research systems, and contribute to a self-sustaining ecosystem of scientific excellence across the region.