Gulbenkian and La Caixa support health research in the PALOP with 500 thousand euros

The projects, selected by an international jury, are led by researchers from Angola, Cape Verde and Mozambique, who participated in the Science Management course, an initiative promoted by the two foundations between 2018 and 2020 and which involved around 50 researchers in the three editions. , according to a statement from Gulbenkian.

The National Institute of Health Research, through the Health Research Center of Angola, will develop the project "Helminth infections and allergic respiratory diseases. Does a neglected tropical disease influence a non-communicable disease?". The project aims to understand the link between allergic respiratory disease and the presence of helminths (intestinal parasites) and the role that the gut microbiome may play in asthma and helminth control.

This project is a partnership with the Hospital Militar de Luanda and the Escola Superior de Tecnologias da Saúde de Lisboa and is led by Jocelyne Vasconcelos and Margarete Arrais.

The National Institute of Health of Mozambique was another of the winners of the contest with the project "Epidemiology and characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infection among children and their households in Mozambique" led by Nilsa de Deus and Osvaldo Inlamea, for the next two years, referred to in the communiqué.

The project consists of the study of SARS-Cov-2 in children from three primary schools in urban, peri-urban and rural neighborhoods of Maputo.

The researchers will analyze the mortality and morbidity rates in these age groups, as well as carry out an epidemiological study and a seroprevalence survey that will make it possible to understand the exposure to the virus by children.

For its part, the University of Cape Verde will develop the project "Clinical-Pathological Characterization of PALOP'S Cancer - INCUBATOR", a project that aims to understand the incidence of prostate cancer in Cape Verde and Mozambique, carry out a biological study, and know which is the most frequent subtype of the cancer that kills the most in Cape Verde.

This project also includes the creation of the digital laboratory "INCUBATOR", a platform for publishing data and information to support the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

The project is led by Neidy Varela Rodrigues and Mamudo Ismail, in partnership with the Faculty of Medicine of the Eduardo Mondlane University, in Mozambique.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the "la Caixa" Foundation have been developing an annual program - "Science Management Course" - aimed at researchers and managers of research institutions, public or private, in the area of ​​health, namely scientific directors, coordinators and program managers from Portuguese Speaking African Countries (PALOP).