title: The Africa Center for Biostatistical Excellence: a proposal for enhancing biostatistics capacity for sub-Saharan Africa.
abstract: Sub-Saharan Africa has a shortage of well-trained biomedical research methodologists, in particular, biostatisticians. In July 2014, a group of biostatisticians and researchers from the region attended a brainstorming workshop to identify ways in which to reduce the deficit in this critical skill. The workshop recognized that recommendations from previous workshops on building biostatistics capacity in sub-Saharan Africa had not been implemented. The discussions culminated with a proposal to setup an Africa Center for Biostatistical Excellence, a collaborative effort across academic and researcher institutions within the region, as a vehicle for promoting biostatistics capacity building through specialized academic masters programs as well as regular workshops targeting researchers.
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics Unit, Center for Evidence-based Health Care, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Rhoderick
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Machekano
authors.affiliation: Center for Evidence Based Health Care, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Taryn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
authors.forename: Simbarashe
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rusakaniko
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Musonda
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sartorius
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, U.K.
authors.forename: Jim
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5918-4914
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Todd
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, U.K.
authors.forename: Greg
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2663-2765
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fegan
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Lehana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thabane
authors.affiliation: Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Usuf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Chikte
mesh_terms: D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D056808:Biostatistics; D057191:Capacity Building; D032921:Consensus; D006801:Humans; D012108:Research Personnel / Q000193:education / Q000600:supply & distribution*
keywords: biostatistics; capacity building; center of excellence; collaboration; research; sub-Saharan Africa