Head of Environmental Health Research, KHRC speaks at the Partnerships in STE(A)M Innovation and Future Africa Symposium

November 03, 2022 | News | Reading time: 3 min

The Head of Environmental Health Research at KHRC, Dr. Sulemana Watara Abubakari made a presentation at the Partnerships in STE(A)M Innovation and Future Africa Symposium convened by the Africa Office of Harvard Center for African Studies.

The two-day virtual event held from November 3 to 4, 2022 aimed at providing a platform to highlight ongoing Harvard-funded and CAS supported STE(A)M research led by Harvard faculty and their Africa-based collaborators; survey findings of the Africa Research, Implementation Science, and Education (ARISE) Network researchers.

Presenting on the ARISE Network Survey, Dr. Abubakari noted that ARISE network as part of the efforts to drive Africa led research on COVID-19 in the continent, completed two rounds of surveys between July 2020 and December 2021.

He highlighted ARISE Network’s approach to the COVID-19 pandemic which included; establishing a mobile survey platform across five countries in sub-Saharan Africa to rapidly generate data from healthcare workers and the general populations on knowledge and practices related to COVID-19 prevention and management, impact of the outbreak on other health domains and vaccine perceptions and hesitancy.

Dr. Abubakari co-presented with Dr. Emily R. Smith, Assistant Professor, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University. The presentation also focused on key findings of the study which comprises COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, effects of COVID-19 pandemic on diet quality, food prices and food security, among others.

The symposium featured research projects that aim to provide a deeper understanding of problems in the African context and seek new discoveries to solve the challenges and advance future development.