The Gulbenkian Foundation said in a statement on Tuesday that, "over the next three years, four projects in the area of cancer, pediatrics and the relationship between tuberculosis and diabetes will be supported within the scope of the "We Forward – capacity building in health sciences in the PALOP" initiative.
The same note states that the projects were selected by an international jury, among 20 applications, in areas of health sciences considered fundamental in Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique.
In Angola, the Katyavala Bwila University project will be supported – "Capacity Building for Research, Prevention and Treatment of Oncological Diseases in Albinos" – which also has as partners the Lubango Central Hospital, the Portuguese Institute of Oncology of Porto and the GONCOinitiative, the statement reads.
Led by researcher Maria Madalena Paulo Chimpolo, "the project emerged as a response to the high number of people with albinism in the provinces of Huíla and Benguela – regions marked by high levels of sun exposure, social vulnerabilities and a high incidence of oncological diseases".
In Guinea-Bissau, the "Oncology Initiative" project, promoted by Jean Piaget University, "aims to create a research ecosystem, integrating teaching, research and care provision".
Led by researcher Bubacar Embaló, "the project aims to strengthen Guinea-Bissau's response capacity to the oncological challenges it faces, improving infrastructure and training specialized professionals to increase the rate of early diagnosis and treatment options".
Still in Guinea-Bissau, the Lusófona University will receive support for the project "which aims to understand the relationship between tuberculosis and diabetes mellitus, one of the chronic non-communicable diseases that are emerging as a growing problem in Sub-Saharan Africa, coexisting with high rates of infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis".
In Mozambique, the project of the Faculty of Medicine of Eduardo Mondlane University aims to strengthen the capacity of the Pediatric Research Centers that "aim to carry out cutting-edge research in the pediatric area, especially in the preparation of clinical trials for new medicines and vaccines, in collaboration with external institutions and funding from EDCTP". Led by José Sumbana, this project aims to "create infrastructure and technology conditions and strengthen human resources at the University's Microbiology Laboratory".
The "We Forward" initiative was born at the end of 2024, as a result of a collaboration protocol between the Gulbenkian Foundation and the "la Caixa" Foundation with the aim of developing a program that would promote training in the area of health sciences in the PALOP, through the strengthening of research centers or centers of higher education institutions and their connection with health units in these countries.
Through the International Area of the "la Caixa" Foundation and the Partnerships with Africa Program of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the two foundations have been collaborating since 2015 on different initiatives with the aim of promoting partnerships and strengthening the global health sector in the PALOP countries.
