Sub-Saharan Africa has a burgeoning ecosystem for drug discovery, where several research institutions are working to identify new small molecule compounds to serve as promising treatments for infectious diseases afflicting local communities. Due to the complex interplay between disease and local environment, it is vital that African researchers are empowered to search for tailored health solutions in close proximity to African patient populations. However, this research community faces barriers to further innovation, especially regarding access to enabling infrastructure and expertise.
Through the Horizon Europe initiative RAFIKI – short for “EU-Africa Research Infrastructure Alliance to Foster Infectious Disease research, Knowledge sharing and Innovation” (spelling “rafiki”, Swahili for “friend”) – an African and European consortium of six research groups, one research infrastructure, one foundation, and one product development partnership are joining forces to strengthen the existing drug discovery capacities in sub-Saharan Africa and foster new collaborations across Africa and Europe.
Read on to learn about our consortium and plans to enhance drug discovery capacity and infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa.
What is Drug Discovery?
New medicines must go through a long journey before they can be safely used to treat or prevent illnesses. This journey begins with drug discovery: the process of identifying a molecule that could become a promising new medicine down the line.
Drug discovery typically starts with screening, where a biologist or pharmacologist tests a large number of molecules—often from curated compound libraries—against biological targets such as cellular models, purified proteins, or even whole organisms. These screens help identify hits: molecules that show potential therapeutic activity.
Hits are then validated and refined into leads, which are molecules showing sufficient promise for further development. At this point, medicinal chemists engage in lead optimization—an iterative process that modifies these molecules to help them work even better in the disease context.
Once a lead has been appropriately optimized, the drug discovery phase ends. The optimized lead is handed over to the clinical candidate phase, where it is rigorously tested in more complex living systems to make sure it can be safely and effectively used as a medicine.
| Full project name | EU-Africa Research Infrastructure Alliance to Foster Infectious Disease research, Knowledge sharing and Innovation |
| Funding scheme | HORIZON-INFRA-2024-DEV-01-02 – Strengthen the bilateral cooperation on research infrastructures with Africa |
| Grant agreement ID | 101188390 |
| Budget | €1,499,981.30 (EU) + additional funds from Swiss government |
| Coordinator | EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC |
| Duration | January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2027 |
Our Actions
RAFIKI is offering a diverse set of opportunities for early-career and established researchers in sub-Saharan Africa to expand the knowledge and skill base for drug discovery on the continent.
Through the targeted actions below, we aim to reinforce the existing drug discovery scene on the continent and create new avenues for scientific EU–Africa collaboration in the future.
Global Health Mentorship Programme
Empower the next generation of drug discovery researchers by matching early-career mentees with expert mentors from across the global drug discovery scene.
Capacity Building Fellowships
Boost knowledge transfer and technical skillsets through hands-on training visits between RAFIKI partner institutions.
Comprehensive Drug Discovery Workshops and Online Training
Invest in the education of drug discovery researchers across Africa through comprehensive in-person workshops at several locations across the continent, as well as globally accessible online training courses.
Sample Libraries and Data Sharing Capabilities
Build small molecule compound libraries and data storage facilities at RAFIKI partner institutions to enable efficient and collaborative drug discovery research.
Community Building and Outreach
Connect drug discovery researchers across Africa and Europe to foster new collaborations and showcase the importance of drug discovery to the wider community.
Long-Term Sustainability
Create connections and identify funding opportunities to ensure the long-term sustainability of the actions undertaken throughout the project.
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Our Network
RAFIKI is offering a diverse set of opportunities for early-career and established researchers in sub-Saharan Africa to expand the knowledge and skill base for drug discovery on the continent.
Through the targeted actions below, we aim to reinforce the existing drug discovery scene on the continent and create new avenues for scientific EU–Africa collaboration in the future.
Our Partners
EU-OPENSCREEN
EU-OPENSCREEN (RAFIKI project coordinator) is the European Research Infrastructure Consortium for chemical biology and early drug discovery. Through their network of 30+ European research institutions, they offer access to key technology platforms and expertise to help researchers advance their drug discovery research.
H3D Foundation
The H3D Foundation was established in 2019 to create an absorptive capacity for securing, building and retaining skilled African scientists within innovative R&D. They also lead the formation of the GC ADDA network, which supports drug discovery projects for global health across sub-Saharan Africa.
Drug Discovery Unit, University of Dundee
The Drug Discovery Unit at the University of Dundee is an integrated drug discovery unit with the capabilities and infrastructure to support drug discovery from hit identification to candidate selection. With a focus on neglected tropical diseases, they also lead extensive training opportunities for researchers in low/middle income countries.
Drug Innovation Group, University of Ghana
The Drug Innovation Group at the University of Ghana has an outstanding track record in interdisciplinary chemical biology and is a stronghold for drug discovery research in Africa and globally. The group supports teaching and research activities on several aspects of drug discovery and disease areas.
Kenya Medical Research Institute
The Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) is a leading centre for health research, capacity building, innovation and service delivery in Africa. KEMRI’s Centre for Traditional Medicine and Drug Research (CTMDR), the division active in RAFIKI, strongly focuses on drug discovery research using natural products.
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University has been a leader in establishing chemical biology within South Africa. RAFIKI collaborates with Stellenbosch University’s Strauss and Birkholtz Research Groups, which focus on using chemical approaches to tackle biological problems related to infectious diseases of concern to the African continent, such as malaria and tuberculosis.
Holistic Drug Discovery and Development (H3D) Centre, University of Cape Town
The H3D Centre is an integrated drug discovery and development in South Africa. Their mission is to discover and develop innovative, lifesaving medicines for infectious diseases; build Africa-specific models to improve treatment outcomes in African patients; develop relevant technologies; and train African scientists in drug discovery-related sciences.
University of Zambia
The Cheuka Research Group at the University of Zambia, our collaborator in RAFIKI, focuses on exploring synthetic organic molecules as potential treatments for infectious diseases such as schistosomiasis and malaria.
Medicines for Malaria Venture
The Medicines for Malaria Venture is a product development partnership in the field of antimalarial drug research and development. Its mission is to reduce the burden of malaria in disease-endemic countries by discovering, developing and facilitating the delivery of new, effective and affordable antimalarial drugs
Project Leadership
RAFIKI is coordinated by Dr. Bahne Stechmann of EU-OPENSCREEN.
Project progress and execution are overseen by the RAFIKI Executive Board (EXB), which comprises representatives from each consortium partner. The EXB liaises with the project coordinator on project execution and is the ultimate decision-making body of the consortium.
The RAFIKI Project Management Team (PMT) is responsible for overseeing day-to-day management and organizational aspects of the project. The PMT consists of representatives from EU-OPENSCREEN and the H3D Foundation (co-coordinator of RAFIKI).