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Mentorship may be conceptualised in terms of the form it takes, function it serves or it's learning centred nature which makes research in mentoring to receive attention within different disciplines. This article attempts to understand how a mentoring programme can contribute to enhanced research capacity building in the field of Innovation and Development (I&D) studies in Africa. It does this through a qualitative study of an African-oriented research capacity building network (AfricaLics) that aims at building a critical mass of scholars in I&D studies in the continent of Africa. Drawing on theoretical approaches in higher education that support systems of interaction thinking, the paper finds that more systematic and extensive mentorship, and awareness about different types of mentorship can enhance capacity building in the field of I&D studies. The paper recommends that development of an I&D mentorship programme must consider a mix of both structured and unstructured elements that are aligned to the local context. These context-specific elements are critical to building sustainable research capacity building programmes in academic disciplines that are transdisciplinary in nature such as I&D studies.

New tools are being explored to provide collective and participatory means of governing data to promote the management of data in ways that benefit those from whom data is collected. This paper discusses whether data trusts are feasible structures in an African context by outlining specific considerations that should be prioritised in the development of bottom-up and collective models of data governance on the continent. Making use of international instruments, principles and established values like Ubuntu, the paper analyses the importance of collective decision-making through collective and participatory governance, women's empowerment, and capacity-building, and how the alignment of data trusts to African contexts could help balance historical power differentials, and emphasise heterogeneity as the starting point of all discussions in the digital age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engaging in clinical trials in Africa not only enhances researchers' comprehension of local health concerns but also plays a crucial role in tackling global health challenges. In Tanzania, there has been a surge of clinical research for the past 10 years indicating a need to improve ethical and clinical trial regulatory capacity. Several initiatives to address the clinical trial regulatory and ethics challenges have been done. Lessons from such initiatives are important to inform evidence-based decision-making for sustainability. The ASCEND project with the theme of "Moving Tanzania's Clinical Research Ethics and Medicines Regulatory Capacity to the Next Level: Fostering Medicine Quality, Safety and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) on Clinical Trials" was implemented in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar from November 2020 to December 2023. A thorough review of the project implementation reports and on deliverables was conducted to identify the lessons learned. Inductive content analysis was used to analyze the information. A total of seven lessons were deduced from the reviewed documents. These include capacity building through training on clinical trials review and approval process, research ethics and GCP inspection which cannot be overlooked; engaging the community in reporting adverse drug events is worth considering; digitalization of electronic systems enhances clinical trial control and creates a dynamic regulatory ecosystem; compliance to requirements for clinical trials conduct is enhanced by training of early and mid-career researchers; networking and broad stakeholders' engagement and participation in ethics and regulations governing clinical trials is a cornerstone for strengthening collaboration between researchers and regulators; the need for electronic systems for monitoring and evaluation of the project is inevitable and the need for adhering to project timelines is crucial for successful implementation of the project. Sustainability is the take-home message from the ASCEND project and should inform stakeholders for future improvement. Continuous investment and advancement in research ethics and regulatory oversight across Africa should be prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pig production is one of the viable enterprises of the livestock sub-sector of agriculture. It contributes significantly to the economy and animal protein supply to enhance food security in Africa and globally. This article explored the present status of pig production in Africa, the challenges, prospects and potentials. The pig population of Africa represents 4.6% of the global pig population. They are widely distributed across Africa except in Northern Africa where pig production is not popular due to religio-cultural reasons. They are mostly reared in rural parts of Africa by smallholder farmers, informing why majority of the pig population in most parts of Africa are indigenous breeds and their crosses. Pig plays important roles in the sustenance of livelihood in the rural communities and have cultural and social significance. The pig production system in Africa is predominantly traditional, but rapidly growing and transforming into the modern system. The annual pork production in Africa has grown from less than a million tonnes in year 2000 to over 2 million tonnes in 2021. Incidence of disease outbreak, especially African swine fever is one of the main constraints affecting pig production in Africa. Others are lack of skills and technical know-how, high ambient temperature, limited access to high-quality breeds, high cost of feed ingredients and veterinary inputs, unfriendly government policies, religious and cultural bias, inadequate processing facilities as well as under-developed value-chain. The projected human population of 2.5 billion in Africa by 2050, increasing urbanization and decreasing farming population are pointers to the need for increased food production. The production systems of pigs in Africa requires developmental research, improvements in housing, feed production and manufacturing, animal health, processing, capacity building and pig friendly policies for improved productivity and facilitation of export. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scope: Academic biomedical researchers and educators in African countries navigate complex local, national, and international systems to conduct grantfunded research. To secure funding, collaboration with researchers from highincome countries is often necessary. Existing literature highlights that these global health initiatives are commonly fraught with unequal power dynamics and lead by the foreign partners. Despite these inequalities, African faculty can benefit from these collaborations, fostering the development of their labs and careers. This study delves into reflections on lived experiences from academic biomedical researchers in Africa to better understand the impact of foreign collaborations. Methods: We designed a qualitative study using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) method and used Self-determination and Complex Systems Leadership theories to frame this study. Ten academic biomedical researchers in Africa consented to join this study. The participants submitted a four-week series of reflective journals through an online data management platform. Subsequently, IPA methods were employed to analyze the collected journals. Results: Participants' reflections yielded six thematic key findings, encompassing their experiences in international collaborative research. The findings included: foreign dominance within the international macrosystem; resource challenges in their local microsystems; mesosystem dependency from collaborations; scholarly identity within research relationships; collaborative leadership; and the impact of the foreign perspective. From these findings, three implications were drawn suggesting that participants were (1) motivated by scholarly identity found in collaborations; (2) depended on collaborations that were colonialist but beneficial; and (3) created change through leadership at the microsystem level. Implications: Foreign collaborators and funders in global health education and research should critically consider how implications of this study relate to their collaborative work. Based on our analysis, recommendations for foreign collaborators and funders include prioritizing local leadership and perspectives in education initiatives and research grants; reviewing and leveraging collective leadership; engaging in bidirectional training, and mentoring opportunities; participating in power assessments; and removing publication barriers for researchers in Africa (and low-and middle-income countries). Insights from this study could impact global health research and education in multiple ways including new initiatives in mentorship and training in international collaborations along with increased awareness and correction of colonialism within these collaborations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]