The MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (MRC-G at LSHTM) has announced the formal launch of the African Population Cohorts Consortium (APCC), a milestone in African-led health research and data innovation. The MRC-G at LSHTM made this announcement yesterday, Wednesday, June 25 2025, while celebrating the launch of the APCC.
“As a member of the APCC Interim Steering Committee, I am honoured to have contributed to shaping this visionary platform. The APCC brings together over 40 large-scale population cohorts from 16 African countries, to harness the power of longitudinal data for science, public health, policy, and impact”, Prof. Umberto D’Alessandro, MRC-G at LSHTM’s Unit Director.
According to Prof. Umberto, the Consortium is a major step towards strengthening research for population science driven in Africa by Africans, and for Africa; that it’s ambitious research agenda will tackle some of the most pressing health challenges of our time, including the interconnection between climate change and health, health and wellbeing within a lifespan, as well as universal access to health.
‘‘We commend ‘‘Wellcome’’ for the renewed £4 million investment to establish a permanent APCC Secretariat hosted by the Science for Africa Foundation. This support will activate critical governance structures and foster greater research collaboration across the continent. MRC-G at LSHTM is committed to advancing APCC’s mission and to ensuring African communities are not just the subjects of research, but are active leaders in shaping it,’’ the release ends.