The African Bioinformatics Institute (ABI) is a partner alongside the African Population Cohorts Consortium (APCC) and the Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation), in GEN-IMPACT, a new Africa-led programme that aims to address the glaring underrepresentation of African researchers and data from global genomics research – despite the continent’s rich genetic diversity.

By tapping into the existing expertise and data sets on the continent, and building capacity, GEN-IMPACT will demonstrate the feasibility and viability of data generation and analysis done in Africa. The programme, supported by Wellcome, is a £10 million, five-year initiative that will align genomic research with regional public health priorities and strengthen Africa’s capacity to lead in genomics.

Genomics research on the continent is gaining further traction, GEN-IMPACT will build on this momentum by supporting data generation and analysis with a focus on African regions where genomic data are scarce. The programme aims to add genomic data for 10,000 participants as a first step towards increasing Africa’s representation in global genomic research.

ABI will lead capacity-building efforts by providing training on data management and analysis, supporting data standards, transfer, processing and collaborative analysis of the data.

The Institute has access to an extensive network of bioinformaticians, data scientists, and research institutions across the continent and is uniquely positioned to support data infrastructure. ABI brings the expertise and coordination needed to ensure that genomic data can be used efficiently and equitably.

“GEN-IMPACT gives Africa an opportunity not only to strengthen data management and analysis capacity, but also to build a truly continental data ecosystem that empowers African scientists and public-health systems. ABI is proud to contribute our expertise and networks to this vision,” states Professor Nicola Mulder, Interim Lead of ABI.

“Establishing new longitudinal cohorts that include genomic data generation is complex, requiring collaboration between multiple parties with different areas of expertise. The APCC brings expertise in longitudinal cohorts, SFA in grant and project administration, and ABI in data standards, analysis and interpretation.”

This 5 year programme will begin in January 2026 with a preparatory phase to develop the processes and onboard the sites. Once established, the sites will begin recruitment and data collection.

Read the SFA announcement here