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Prof Martin Nyaga champions Africa’s scientific leadership at the AAS Summit in Ghana

18 August 2025 | Story Somila Nazo | Photo Supplied

Prof Martin Nyaga, one of Africa’s foremost experts in genomics and global health, recently delivered a powerful call for Africa’s leadership in global science at the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) Summit in Accra, Ghana.

As Head of the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) Unit at the University of the Free State (UFS) and Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases Surveillance and Pathogen Genomics, Prof Nyaga urged the scientific community to recognise Africa not just as a participant in global research, but as a driver of innovation and change.

A summit of vision and collaboration

Themed Unpacking the Pact for the Future: Imperatives for Advancing Scientific Cooperation with Africa, the summit took place from 2 – 4 July 2025. Hosted by the AAS in partnership with the African Union, the Government of Ghana, the University of Ghana, and other global partners, the summit brought together leading scientists, policymakers, and international stakeholders to discuss Africa’s role in shaping the future of global science, research and innovation.

The event was attended by high-level dignitaries, including the President of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, and the former President of Nigeria, His Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo – a clear indication of strong political will to prioritise science, health and innovation across the continent.

Advancing Africa’s voice in global health

On 2 July 2025, Prof Nyaga delivered his keynote address, Advances, Opportunities and Priorities for Global Health in Africa. He highlighted Africa’s growing capabilities in genomics and public health, underscoring the opportunities for scientific leadership.

Following his address, he joined an expert panel with representatives from Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria to discuss strategies for advancing scientific cooperation in global health. His contributions focused on: strengthening research collaborations; building capacity within Africa; increasing African ownership in health innovations, and enhancing the translation of research into policy and practice.

Prof Nyaga also used the platform to spotlight the work of the UFS Next Generation Sequencing (UFS-NGS) Unit. As a WHO Collaborating Centre, the unit plays a critical role in pathogen tracking, monitoring vaccine-preventable diseases, and supporting public health preparedness across Africa and beyond.

“This engagement provided an opportunity to highlight the impactful research from the UFS-NGS Unit – not only in academic publications, but in demonstrating tangible public health benefits to policy makers,” said Prof Nyaga. “It elevated the University of the Free State’s standing as a leader in genomic science, while opening new opportunities for collaboration for South Africa and the continent. Our research priorities are increasingly shaping global health and innovation agendas.”

From Ghana to the G20

The outcomes of the summit will feed into a communiqué to be presented at the 2025 G20 Summit, to be hosted by South Africa. Prof Nyaga’s thought leadership ensures that Africa’s scientific voice - and South Africa’s research priorities - will be represented at one of the world’s most influential multilateral platforms.

For more information about UFS partnerships in Africa, contact the Office for International Affairs at partnerships@ufs.ac.za.

News Archive

Universities can contribute to economic transformation

2010-01-27

At the lecture were, from the left: Prof. Neil Heideman (Acting Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences), Prof. Hartmut Frank (University of Bayreuth, Germany), Prof. Bianchi and Prof. Jan van der Westhuizen (professor in Chemistry at the UFS).
Photo: Mangaliso Radebe

Universities have a role to play in economic transformation and industrial development according to Prof. Fabrizio Bianchi, the Rector of the University of Ferrara in Italy.

This was the core message of his lecture on the topic Globalisation, Agriculture and Industrial Development that he delivered at the University of the Free State.

He said after the collapse of the agricultural industry in Italy as a result of the subsidies that the farmers were receiving from the government, the university had to step in.

“This was meant to maintain high prices and maximize the production but in the long run this approach created problems because the farmers were no longer producing high quality products but large quantities in order to receive subsidies,” he said.

“The result was that the government itself had to destroy those poor quality products. This was a completely unreasonable way to manage the economy”.

He said they had to abandon that approach and concentrate on quality because they realized that Italy could not match the prices and the quantity, in terms of production, of countries like China and the USA.

He said “knowledge and human resources” were the key factors that could get them out of that crisis; hence they came up with what he called “the Made in Italy approach”.

“We were working on the idea that food is part of culture and that it is not just simply for refueling the body,” he said.

“One of the fundamental ideas was to come back to the idea that production is the centre of the development process.”

“Quality is a very complex, collective issue,” he said. “You cannot understand development if you do not understand that you have to base it on strong roots”.

This approach resulted in the formation of several companies with specialized niche markets producing high quality products.

His visit to the UFS coincided with that of the 1991 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Prof. Richard Ernst from Switzerland, who was also part of the fourth presentation of the Cheese fondue concept.

The main thrust of this concept is that technical advances alone are insufficient for an agreement to be reached on the minimum respect between the various groups and individuals within a society. It proposes that for this to be achieved there has to be a concurrent development of empathy and emotional synergy.

Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt@ufs.ac.za
27 January 2010

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