The African Union High Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) through its knowledge sharing platform the Calestous Juma Executive Dialogue (CJED) hosted a webinar titled Unlocking Africa's Genetic Potential: Advancing Precision Medicine for Public Health. Below are the excerpts from the Webinar.

This is the 9th post in a blog series to be published in 2024 by the APET Secretariat on behalf of the AU High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET)

In 2019, AUDA-NEPAD and the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), in collaboration with the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) platform, launched the Africa Scientific Priority Setting initiative (ASP). This initiative aimed to define the agenda for research and investments in R&D and innovation, pinpointing the scientific priorities crucial for African research and development (R&D). The goal of the initiative goal was to customise agendas and investments to meet Africa's distinct needs and challenges. Through extensive consultations involving experts from diverse sectors, key research priorities covering healthcare, agriculture, climate resilience, and technological innovation were identified. These priorities were strategically selected by relevant stakeholders to ignite sustainable development, foster economic growth, and enhance overall well-being across the continent[1].

One area identified by the Africa Scientific Priority Setting initiative was precision medicine. Precision medicine is a novel approach to healthcare that has gained prominence recently. Also known as personalised medicine, it is an approach to medical treatment and prevention that takes into account individual variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle for each person. This approach allows healthcare providers to tailor medical care and treatments to the individual characteristics of each patient, rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach.

Precision medicine aims to improve the effectiveness of treatments, reduce adverse effects, and provide more accurate diagnoses by considering the unique genetic makeup, molecular profile, and other factors that may influence a person's health and response to treatments. This emerging field is characterised by the use of genetic and genomic information, biomarkers, and advanced technologies to make informed decisions about a person's healthcare. It provides individualised therapies based on a person's genetic composition, lifestyle, and surroundings. Although this strategy has the potential to completely transform healthcare throughout the world, it might have a particularly big impact on Africa. Africa offers a singular chance to leverage precision medicine to solve public health issues and realise the genetic potential of the continent because of its great genetic variety.[2]

The implementation of precision medicine in Africa is considered important because it has the potential to revolutionise healthcare delivery, improve patient outcomes, and contribute to the advancement of health systems on the continent. Due to this importance, a webinar was organised, which convened various stakeholders from academia, public and private sector and scientific research organisations to deliberate on the subject matter. The webinar was organised on the Calestous Juma Executive Dialogue (CJED) Platform, with the participation of one hundred and seventy-five (175) participants.

The webinar focused on the growing importance of precision medicine within the context of Africa as the continent is one of the most genetically diverse regions in the world due to its rich cultural and ethnic diversity. Webinar participants acknowledged that precision medicine can leverage this genetic diversity to understand the genetic underpinnings of diseases and tailor treatments that are more effective for different population groups.  To this end stakeholders discussed the potential of precision medicine to reduce health risks by using genetic insights to inform prescription pharmaceutical choices, which would improve patient safety and increase the effectiveness of healthcare delivery.

The webinar further discussed case studies or examples of projects currently being implemented in Africa, with the goal of promoting political and technical buy-in of precision medicine on the continent. The EU-Africa PerMed project was one such initiative that was highlighted. Its goal is to use collaborative efforts between Europe and Africa to incorporate African countries into the global personalised medicine research agenda. Programs such as this highlight Africa's unwavering commitment to developing healthcare and encouraging ground-breaking research to promote knowledge exchange, technology transfer, and capacity building in precision medicine.

After a presentation on a comprehensive introduction to the Framework for Genomic Medicine in Public Health, the participants explored the possible uses, benefits and challenges of incorporating precision medicine and genomics into African healthcare systems. Participants discussed the fact that Africa bears a significant burden of infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis. Precision medicine, they argued, can enhance the development of more precise diagnostics, vaccines, and treatments for these diseases, improving their prevention and management in African populations. A further discussed called for the establishment of genetic testing facilities and repositories, and regulatory framework or Guidelines as an important step in the advancement of precision medicine on the continent.

Developing technological capabilities and infrastructure was deemed essential for the successful implementation of precision medicine in Africa. Initiatives to include African organisations into international research agendas for precision medicine were also highlighted, suggesting a shift in the direction of cooperation and information exchange between Africa and other areas. There is growing hope regarding precision medicine's promise in Africa, notwithstanding its obstacles. Africa is in a good position to overcome obstacles and take advantage of precision medicine's revolutionary advantages to improve patient outcomes and healthcare delivery throughout the continent, thanks to growing awareness and enthusiasm.

In conclusion, webinar participants called for more investment in precision medicine in Africa to strengthen research capacity, infrastructure, and workforce development in genomics, bioinformatics, and other related fields, enabling African scientists and healthcare professionals to participate in cutting-edge research and contribute to global efforts in precision medicine.  African governments, academic institutions, healthcare providers, and communities were called upon to work together to fully realise Africa's genetic promise for the future.

Featured Bloggers – APET Secretariat

Aggrey Ambali

Justina Dugbazah – The Sahara Institute, Accra, Ghana

Barbara Glover

Bhekani Mbuli – University of Johannesburg

Chifundo Kungade

Nhlawulo Shikwambane

[1] https://www.nepad.org/content/africa-scientific-priority-setting-asp

[2] https://www.efpia.eu/about-medicines/development-of-medicines/precision-medicine/