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1. In the past decade, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has
experienced an unprecedented period of political
stability and economic growth. Many parts of SSA
are now enjoying higher living standards,
improvements in infectious disease control, and
longer life spans. Despite this progress, non-
communicable diseases and conditions (NCDCs)
have become a growing concern in SSA nations and
other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Health care systems and technologies that address
NCDCs have not kept pace with the changing health
needs of the SSA population. This is reflected in the
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), adopted in 2015, which set specific targets
for reducing global premature mortality associated
with NCDCs.
Cancer is a growing public health concern in SSA. In
2015, approximately 650,000 individuals died of
cancer in Africa. By 2035, that figure is expected to
more than double, in part due to an increasing
lifespan in Africans, changes in lifestyle that are
associated with increasing cancer risk (e.g.,
smoking, obesity), limited cancer prevention and
treatment capacity, and a decrease in death due to
infectious disease.
In addition, health care needs for many women in
SSA remain poorly addressed and under-resourced,
as evidenced by the focus on reducing global
maternal mortality in the SDGs. Obstetric Fistula
(OF) is associated with constant incontinence,
shame, social segregation and other health
problems. OF is directly linked to obstructed labor,
one of the major causes of maternal mortality. The
WHO estimates that OF affects more than 2 million
young women in LMIC. For both cancer and OF,
there has been limited innovation in care,
technologies, and sustainable models in SSA.
These public health concerns demand that NCDC
control become a priority in SSA. NCDC control can
be defined as the creation or enhancement of
interventions that reduce risk, incidence, morbidity
and mortality, and improve quality of life. We
propose to address NCDC control by creating
the Partnership for African Collaborative
Engagement (PACE) Network to improve the health
and well-being of Africans through sustainable,
translational research.
Our focus will be in two areas of urological need in
SSA: prostate cancer (CaP) and OF. We will build a
global network of institutions and shared evidence-
based infrastructure including a web-based
communication and education platform, standard
operating procedures and best practices. We
will leverage our collaborators’ expertise in public-
private partnership development, alliance
management, and research and development (R&D)
capacity building to ensure productive industry
engagement for mutual benefit. This network builds
on two existing infrastructures in urological research
and health care: The Men of African Descent and
Carcinoma of the Prostate (MADCaP) network and a
multicenter urology care network in SSA led by
the l’Institut de Formation et de Recherche en
Urologie et Santé Familiale (IFRU/SF) headquartered
in Dakar, Senegal.
“Our mission is to undertake research that will
result in clinical and public health practice-
changing activities.”
THE BIRTH OF PACE
Partnership for African Collaborative Engagement