SHARPER
About SHARPER Project
Strengthening Health Systems Capacity in Africa for Pandemic Equity and Responsiveness (SHARPER) Project is a consortium of six partner institutions, including College of Medicine, University of Ibadan (COMUI), University of Cape Town (UCT), Cameroon Bioethics Initiative (CAMBIN), Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHES), Malawi, Afya na Haki Institute, Uganda, and Tropical Institute for Community Health (TICH), Kenya. The COMUI is the lead institution, with Prof. Ademola Ajuwon of the Department of Health Promotion and Education as the Principal Investigator.
Objectives
The project seeks to strengthen the landscape of health research ethics in Africa by developing context-specific ethical frameworks that promote equity, inclusivity, and fair access to the benefits of health research for African communities.
What We Do
A key component of SHARPER is its investment in capacity strengthening and research leadership. The project provides a range of funding opportunities and grants for early-career researchers, with particular emphasis on supporting women researchers. These grants are designed to advance scholarship and evidence generation in research ethics, pandemic and epidemic preparedness, benefit sharing, and equitable health systems strengthening.
Through research, training, policy engagement, and strategic partnerships, SHARPER is contributing to the development of resilient, responsive, and ethically grounded health systems that can better address current and future public health challenges across Africa.
Work Packages (WP)
WP 1: Ethics, Legal, and Human Rights Analysis
WP 2: Regional Contexts Evaluation
WP 3: Exploring African Values in Research
WP 4: Capacity Strengthening
WP 5: Advocacy for Policy Change
WP 6: Internal Network Strengthening
Journal Publications