Sub-Saharan Africa has a critical shortage of well-trained clinical research methodologists, in particular, biostatisticians and clinical trial methodologists. Supported by the and Welcome Trust and the Fogarty International Heath NIH grants, respectively, the Sub-Saharan Africa Consortium for Advanced Biostatistics Training (SSACAB) and the Stellenbosch MSc in Biostatistics Program, were designed to:
1. Develop, strengthen and implement high quality biostatistics graduate training;
2. Develop expertise, skills, and research leaders of biostatistics in Sub-Saharan Africa;
3. Build a sustainable network of biostatisticians and statistically informed researchers through outreach, and mentoring; and
4. Integrate with International Biostatistics Societies and National Statistical Societies to produce a cadre of internationally trained African biostatisticians.
This has been a partnership among several universities in the region and in the North, and national and international funding agencies. The objective of this session is to share experiences about how these endeavors were approached, the successes and challenges todate, the lessons learnt, and the funders’ perspectives, about how to build capacity in clinical trial methodology in resource-stricken settings.