We know that having the ability to respond more efficiently and effectively to health threats such as mpox and cancer is one of the direct positive impacts of ABI . But it also has the potential to be a major driver of genomics advances in Africa.
At Wellcome, we believe the next step in genomics is to diversify the data and enable greater participation by both experts and the general public around the world. ABI could make a significant contribution to this with the technology and expertise it brings.
Most of the genomics data and tools that currently exist were created for European ancestry or genomes. Therefore, one of ABI’s goals is to develop genomics tools tailored to Africa’s population and biodiversity.
Improving genomics data to include everyone, everywhere has the potential to yield new knowledge and insights that can have a profound impact on our health.
There are many more possibilities for ABI, and we cannot predict them all. The ultimate goal is to create an environment where breakthroughs can occur.
“ABI is not necessarily about publishing the next breakthrough paper,” says Ekin Bolukbasi, Data for Science and Health technology manager at Wellcome.
“This is about providing the skills and data-related infrastructure that can help people publish these groundbreaking papers.”
