Nairobi, Kenya · 14 March 2023 — The Science for Africa (SFA) Foundation officially launched the second phase of the Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science in Africa (DELTAS Africa) programme on 14 March 2023 in Nairobi, committing US$70 million to 14 collaborative, Africa-led research consortia spanning 75 institutions across 36 countries. The launch was followed by a three-day inception meeting from 15 to 17 March.
Funded by the Wellcome Trust and the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), DELTAS Africa II (2023–2026/27) represents one of the continent's most significant investments in research capacity building. The programme's core mission is to train the next generation of African researchers and create world-class research environments — not through short-term project grants, but through long-term institutional strengthening.
From Phase I to Phase II: A Broadened Mandate
The first phase of DELTAS Africa, implemented between 2015 and 2021 by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) through the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA), awarded grants to 11 consortia headed by senior researchers from eight African countries. That phase focused heavily on transdisciplinary health research and produced measurable gains: strengthened postgraduate training capacity, improved gender parity among PhD fellows, and enhanced research infrastructure at partner institutions.
Phase II expands the scope significantly. While retaining a commitment to infectious diseases, the programme now explicitly includes priority areas that reflect Africa's evolving health and development landscape:
| Research Area | Focus |
|---|---|
| Non-communicable diseases | Cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes |
| Public health research | Health systems, policy, implementation |
| Social sciences and humanities | Behavioural, economic, and social determinants |
| Implementation science | Translating evidence into practice |
| Climate change | Environmental health and adaptation |
| Data science | Health data analytics and informatics |
Administrative Transition to the SFA Foundation
A significant institutional shift accompanies Phase II. While DELTAS Africa I was administered by the AAS through AESA, Phase II is implemented and managed by the Science for Africa (SFA) Foundation, an independent organisation established to continue and expand the work initiated under AESA. Research administrators and partners have been advised to ensure that all documentation and consortium agreements reflect the SFA Foundation as the current administering entity.
This transition reflects a broader trend in African science funding: the emergence of dedicated, independent implementation bodies that can manage large-scale, multi-year programmes with the operational flexibility that traditional academies — often constrained by governance structures designed for fellowship recognition rather than grant management — may lack.
The 14 Consortia
The 14 consortia selected for Phase II include networks addressing some of Africa's most pressing health and development challenges. Among them:
- MARCAD Plus — Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases, building on the first phase's malaria research capacity work
- AMARI-II — African Mental Health Research Initiative, expanding mental health research capacity across the continent
- SSACAB-II — Sub-Saharan Africa Consortium for Advanced Biostatistics, training the next generation of biostatisticians
- CARTA — Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa, focused on strengthening doctoral training and research ecosystems at African universities
Each consortium is tasked with driving locally relevant research that influences science, policy, and practice. The consortia model is deliberately collaborative: rather than funding individual investigators, DELTAS Africa II funds networks of institutions that share training resources, mentorship structures, and research infrastructure.
CARTA and the DELTAS Africa I Legacy
The Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA), one of the 14 Phase II grantees, provides a concrete illustration of what the programme aims to achieve. During DELTAS Africa I, CARTA used its grant to rebuild and strengthen the capacity of African universities to produce well-trained researchers. The results were quantifiable:
- The number of quality multidisciplinary Early Career Researchers (ECRs) at the doctoral level increased across African partner institutions
- Gender parity among PhD fellows improved, supported by a strong gender policy ensuring equity in access to training programmes
- 162 faculty and administration staff had their capacities strengthened to support the institutional research ecosystem
- 127 supervisors participated in supervision capacity-building workshops
- Six senior faculty exchange visits took place, and institutionalisation and infrastructural projects were carried out
Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi, CARTA Co-Director and Executive Director of the African Population and Health Research Center, framed the significance of Phase II:
"The Science for Africa Foundation has emerged as a new bold player in promoting excellence in science on the African continent. We at CARTA are thrilled to be part of the DELTAS Africa II initiative. We cannot do science in a business-as-usual way."
CARTA2025: A Strategic Framework
The DELTAS Africa II grant will support CARTA's current strategic phase, known as CARTA2025, which has four interlinked objectives:
- Maintaining a pipeline of high-quality ECRs — ensuring a steady flow of well-trained doctoral graduates into African research institutions
- Creation of research hubs — establishing centres of excellence within partner institutions
- Mainstreaming of CARTA interventions — embedding training and mentorship structures within institutional systems so they outlive the grant period
- Facilitating engagement with society — ensuring that research produced by CARTA-trained scholars reaches policymakers, communities, and the public
The ultimate goal is to build a critical mass of well-trained and motivated researchers supported by a conducive environment, who can produce high-quality research that addresses common health and development problems in Africa.
The Funding Landscape
DELTAS Africa II sits within a broader ecosystem of African research capacity investments. The Wellcome Trust's commitment reflects a long-standing engagement with African science that predates DELTAS by decades. The FCDO's participation aligns with the UK government's strategy to support science and innovation in low- and middle-income countries as both a development and a diplomatic instrument.
The US$70 million committed to Phase II is substantial but modest relative to the scale of need. Africa contributes approximately 2% of global research output despite bearing a disproportionate share of the global disease burden. Programmes like DELTAS Africa aim to narrow that gap not by funding individual research projects, but by building the institutional infrastructure — trained researchers, functional laboratories, robust mentorship systems — that makes sustained research output possible.
What Success Looks Like
For DELTAS Africa II, success will be measured not only in publications and patents but in the career trajectories of the early-career researchers trained within its consortia. If Phase I is any guide, the programme's most durable legacy may be the cohort of African scientists who, supported by stable multi-year funding and strong mentorship, choose to build their careers on the continent rather than seeking opportunities abroad.
The launch in Nairobi brought together funding partners, government representatives, the diplomatic community, and international development organisations — a convening that underscored the programme's ambition to project the visibility of African research at both continental and global levels. The three-day inception meeting that followed provided the 14 consortia with a platform to build new relationships, productive partnerships, and networks that will shape the programme's implementation over the coming four years.
Sources
- CARTA, "Launch of the DELTAS Africa II Grant Supporting CARTA2025," 30 March 2023 —
- Science for Africa Foundation, DELTAS Africa —
- Wellcome Trust, Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science Initiative II —
- SSACAB, "Launch of DELTAS Africa II" —
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