Curiosity and tragedy led Amelie Wamba toward science. This Cameroonian biochemist has always had a desire to have a tangible impact on public health. Then he experienced the misfortune of losing a brother and a grandmother to , one of the main causes of death in the world, and ended up embarking on research and activism to eradicate this disease.
“Having witnessed the devastating impact of malaria on my family and community, my dedication to fighting this disease became deeply personal,” said the 36-year-old scientist and public health advocate.
His story is part of the documentary Think Outside The Box (Think creatively), made by , which premiered this fall and was recently screened in Yaoundé. Its protagonists are African researchers of different ages and different social contexts from Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria who investigate diseases that especially affect people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds and fight to give visibility to women and inspire new generations to follow in their footsteps. .
The documentary dedicates special attention to the . “We want to make people aware of the need to allocate resources to prevent, diagnose and treat these ailments that tend to be concentrated in vulnerable populations in countries with few resources,” Marta Fernández Pisonero, director of Think Outside The Box.
Pisonero affirms that the title of the documentary already reflects the waste of creativity that African researchers must make daily to overcome the challenges they face. “Social and cultural barriers, along with an educational system that often perpetuates stereotypes, lead many of them to abandon their scientific careers,” she laments.
A male scientific world
Wamba has participated in numerous African initiatives to join forces between countries to fight malaria. As a speaker for the Global Fund to Fight Malaria, Wamba advocates for the elimination of the disease through awareness campaigns, increasing resources for prevention and treatment, and promoting innovative strategies for research and community engagement, in order to train local populations to face this preventable disease.
“I hope to inspire collective action and drive policy changes that lead to a malaria-free future for vulnerable communities,” he explains.
“In my research I have found several innovative methods to combat malaria, such as the use of gene drive technology to modify mosquito populations and reduce their ability to transmit the disease,” he says.
Wamba is also a member of the Cameroonian Higher Institute for Growth in Health Research for Women, (HIGHER Women), a consortium founded in 2014 by the Cameroonian expert professor in polio, malaria and immunization, whose work is also reflected in the documentary.
Leke’s goal is to mentor women starting their careers in medical research. According to UNESCO, in sub-Saharan Africa women occupy positions in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In Cameroon, women are underrepresented in higher education and few achieve positions of responsibility in the scientific world. Without going any further, in this country only 12.5% of women are associate professors and 7% are full professors. The masculinization of science, social stereotypes and an educational system that tends to propagate these ideas lead many women to abandon their careers.
The HIGHER Women consortium strives to attract and retain more women in medical research, and also to support and encourage the increase in the number of female scientists through a training institute in which there is a mentoring program, which provides technical training , but also prepares to “face the African psychosocial environment,” explains Leke.
“The results reveal that, since they joined the program, the young scientists have obtained important research grants thanks to the workshops and active mentoring,” says Leke, who celebrates the fact that more and more women are taking their first steps in the world. Scientific academics present the results of their research at national and international conferences, reach high positions in universities and research institutions, and more easily reconcile family and professional life. The consortium currently has 157 members, 38 of them mentors and 119 students.
“Faced with the hopelessness of surrendering to the first difficulty that often invades our societies in Europe, these women are able to speak, fight against adversity and think outside the pre-established molds,” celebrates Berta Mendiguren, member of the Foundation’s board of trustees. Anesvad.
The person in charge emphasizes that neglected ailments receive limited resources for research and their distribution is another example of the “relations of hegemony and subordination and the gender gaps that exist in research teams.” “That is why the work of these women is even more extraordinary and at Anesvad we are clearly committed to supporting, for example, African scientists who work in the field of rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) with programs such as “”, aimed at promoting African women scientists. who investigate neglected conditions with cutaneous manifestations in sub-Saharan Africa.
