Dates: 23 – 29 August 2025
Location: CEDI Conference Centre, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
Organizers: DS-I Africa Consortium (NIH & Wellcome Trust)
Theme: Data Science in Africa: Strengthening Partnerships and Collaboration across Networks, Sectors and Impact Areas
Overview
The 5th DS-I Africa Consortium Meeting convened researchers, data scientists, and stakeholders from Africa and partner institutions under the overarching goal of advancing data science for health research across the continent. The event was hosted in Accra, Ghana, and aligned with the “Data for Health in Africa Meeting,” creating a platform for technical exchange, capacity building, and strategic collaboration.
Program Structure and Key Activities
The meeting featured a comprehensive agenda spanning datathons and tool-a-thons, working group sessions, plenary discussions, networking exchanges, and targeted workshops:
- Datathon/Toolathon (23–24 August) — Hands-on collaborative sessions focused on data analysis challenges and tools relevant to health data science, facilitated by DS-I Africa coordinators and platform leads.
- Working Group Sessions and Opening Day (25 August) — These sessions included plenary presentations on topics such as Predict, Prevent, Personalize: The Future of Health Diagnostics in Africa, and discussions aimed at strengthening partnerships.
- Plenary Panels and Thematic Discussions (26–27 August) — Sessions featured expert panels on data governance, ethical considerations for data sharing and reuse in Africa, and innovations in infectious disease surveillance.
- Showcases and Flash Talks — Demonstrations highlighted developments in data science platforms such as the eLwazi Open Data Science Platform and opportunities emerging in African biomedical and health data analytics.
- Networking Exchanges and Poster Sessions — These facilitated interactions among early career researchers, consortium members, and external partners, reinforcing the meeting’s collaborative ethos.
Highlights and Participation
Participants included a broad mix of researchers, travel awardees, and speakers representing institutions across Africa and beyond. The meeting’s sessions spotlighted areas such as data science ethics, genomics capacity building, and mental health data approaches — illustrating the diverse applications of data science in health research. Representatives from hubs, projects, and partner organizations contributed to discussions and knowledge sharing.
A session by the African Bioinformatics Institute (ABI) featured updates on its mission to strengthen bioinformatics capacity through distributed infrastructure and collaborative engagement across the continent.
Strategic Emphasis
A central theme throughout the meeting was strengthening partnerships and collaboration — both within the DS-I Africa network and with external stakeholders. Speakers and panelists highlighted the importance of cross-sector partnerships, ethical data governance, and building resilient data science ecosystems that can drive innovations in public health and biomedical research in Africa.
