Strengthening African-Led Partnership in the Science of Defeating Malaria
Across Africa, the fight against malaria continues to demand more than one solution, one institution, or one country. It requires science, leadership, strong health systems, community trust, and partnerships that can translate knowledge into action.
This shared commitment was at the center of the 2026 Science of Defeating Malaria Leadership Development Course, held in Abuja, Nigeria, bringing together global health professionals, academic institutions, government partners, national malaria programmes, and implementing organizations for a week of learning, collaboration, and leadership development.
For the Society for Family Health Rwanda, the Abuja edition represented both continuity and growth. After supporting the successful delivery of the 2025 Science of Defeating Malaria course in Kigali alongside the Rwanda Biomedical Centre, SFH Rwanda was proud to join hands with its sister organization, Society for Family Health Nigeria, as implementing partners for the 2026 edition in Nigeria.
The course was hosted in Nigeria by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the National Malaria Elimination Programme, Redeemer’s University, and the Institute of Genomics and Global Health. Academic and institutional course organizers included Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and University of Health and Allied Sciences as leading partners from Africa and beyond, reflecting the depth of expertise required to confront one of the continent’s most persistent public health challenges.
For SFH Rwanda, contributing to this platform is not simply about supporting a major event. It is about being part of a wider movement to strengthen the people, systems, partnerships, and leadership needed to defeat malaria.
At the same time, SFH Rwanda recognizes that the malaria response must evolve. Climate change, insecticide resistance, population movement, health financing pressures, and gaps in health workforce capacity all require stronger leadership and more adaptive systems.
Leadership development platforms such as SDM help prepare professionals to work across these complexities with evidence, urgency, and collaboration.
By supporting SDM in Rwanda and Nigeria, SFH Rwanda is contributing to a broader malaria ecosystem: one that values science, implementation, national ownership, African leadership, and the practical capacity to turn ideas into results.
At the same time, SFH Rwanda recognizes that the malaria response must evolve. Climate change, insecticide resistance, population movement, health financing pressures, and gaps in health workforce capacity all require stronger leadership and more adaptive systems. Leadership development platforms such as SDM help prepare professionals to work across these complexities with evidence, urgency, and collaboration.
By supporting SDM in Rwanda and Nigeria, SFH Rwanda is contributing to a broader malaria ecosystem: one that values science, implementation, national ownership, African leadership, and the practical capacity to turn ideas into results.
