Africa Clinical Research Network Podcast

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The Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in the DRC has surpassed 7,000 cases, and this isn't the Ebola virus we've dealt with before. It requires entirely new vaccines, new interventions, and a fundamentally different approach.

In this episode, ACRN CEO Dr. Tariro Makadzange, MD (Harvard), DPhil (Oxford), Infectious Disease Physician, Viral Immunologist, Stanford Clinical Assistant Professor, and TIME100 Health 2026 Honoree, joins Alliance & Partnership Director Dr. Wilfred Gurupira to break down the science behind the outbreak, the vaccine candidates in the pipeline, and what it will take for Africa to build resilient health systems that work in peacetime and in crisis. From policy frameworks and domestic financing to continental unity, Dr. Makadzange shares her "three wishes" for Africa's health sovereignty and why the continent must lead its own future in clinical research.

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In Episode 1 of the PVAC Series we heard why Nigeria built PVAC. Now we get into how it works, starting with clinical trials.

Dr. Wilfred Gurupira talks with Muhammad Balarabe, Ecosystem Enablement Team Lead at PVAC, about why clinical trials matter well beyond labs and pharma. For patients they're a way to access new medicines, and for the economy they bring in investment and create skilled jobs.

In this episode:

• Why the public should care about clinical trials
• What PVAC's national landscape assessment of trial sites found, including sites that once ran major trials but lost that capacity over time
• What makes a site "trial-ready": people, technology, biosafety and systems
• The hub-and-spoke plan to activate 437 trial sites across Nigeria's six geopolitical zones
• The new Nigeria Clinical Research Consortium
• Why training alone isn't enough without lasting capacity
• How locally generated evidence and patents can turn research into export value for a West African market of 400M+ people

"Trials in Nigeria does not mean cheap trials."

Coming up in Episode 3, Financing the Future: From Deals to Delivery, Abuja to Every State, we follow the money.

Subscribe, share and join the conversation on research in Africa.

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Are clinical trials part of a global industry? And if so, who's really benefiting? In this episode, Dr Wilfred Gurupira sits down with Dr Huwaida Bulhan, a physician and public health specialist who has spent over 15 years running clinical trials across sub-Saharan Africa. Together, they unpack why the $60 billion clinical trials industry has historically left Africa at the margins, despite the continent carrying 25% of the world's disease burden. From structural barriers and unequal power dynamics to the case for African-led science, this is the conversation the industry needs to have.

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What happens when Africa's largest country decides it can no longer outsource its health future? In this episode, Dr Wilfred Gurupira sits down with Dr Abdu Mukhtar, National Coordinator at PVAC (Nigeria's Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain), to explore why Nigeria created PVAC and what it's designed to solve. They unpack the strategic vulnerability of depending on imported medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics, the fragmentation across Nigeria's health value chain, and why the country's population, market size, and disease burden make this agenda urgent. This is the origin story of one of Africa's most ambitious health sector reforms.

This is Episode 1 of a 3-part series: Building Nigeria's Health Value Chain: The PVAC Story.

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When the Aid Runs Out: Who Will Fund Africa’s Health Future?

As external health assistance declines and debt pressures national budgets, a critical question is emerging: who will finance Africa’s health future?

In this episode of the ACRN Health Podcast, Wilfred Gurupura speaks with Hon. Modou Lamin B. Bah, Chairperson of the Network of African Parliamentary Committees of Health and Vice Chairperson of the Health Committee in the Parliament of The Gambia.

They explore the political and financial choices behind Africa’s health systems — from domestic resource mobilisation and the Abuja health financing commitment to universal health coverage, parliamentary accountability and reducing dependence on donor funding.

The conversation also examines what health sovereignty means in practice: strengthening medicines regulation, supporting the African Medicines Agency, building research capacity and creating the conditions for trusted, high-quality medicines to be developed and manufactured in Africa.

In this episode:

• Financing Africa’s health systems beyond aid
• The power of parliaments over health budgets
• Domestic resource mobilisation and smarter spending
• Health and pharmaceutical sovereignty
• Made-in-Africa medicines and regulatory capacity
• The African Medicines Agency
• Clinical research as part of Africa’s health infrastructure
• Bringing citizens and young Africans into health decision-making

Guest: Hon. Modou Lamin B. Bah
Host: Dr Wilfred Gurupira

Africa’s health future cannot be outsourced. The question is how we build it ourselves.

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Optimising Regulation and Ethics in Clinical Research: Building Faster, Smarter Trial Systems in Africa

What happens before the first participant is ever enrolled in a clinical trial? Behind every breakthrough treatment lies months of regulatory reviews, ethics approvals, contracts, site preparation, and countless behind-the-scenes processes that determine how quickly new medicines reach the people who need them.

In this episode of the ACRN Health Podcast, host Wilfred Gurupira is joined by Dr. Tariro Makadzange, CEO of the Africa Clinical Research Network (ACRN), and Knowledge Ushamba, ACRN's Regulatory Affairs Officer, to unpack the often-overlooked world of clinical trial startup.

Together, they discuss why Africa conducts only a small fraction of the world's clinical trials despite carrying a significant share of the global disease burden, and explore practical solutions to make research more efficient, predictable, and globally competitive.

In this episode, you'll learn:

•  What happens between developing a research protocol and enrolling the first participant. 
•  Why ethics and regulatory approvals are essential—and why they often take longer than necessary. 
•  The challenges of navigating different regulatory systems across African countries. 
•  Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic on accelerating clinical trial approvals without compromising safety. 
•  How regulatory harmonisation initiatives, including the African Medicines Agency (AMA), could transform research across the continent. 
•  Why parallel reviews, common application systems, and stronger collaboration can dramatically reduce trial startup times. 
•  How improving research systems benefits patients by bringing innovative treatments to communities sooner. 

Whether you're a researcher, policymaker, healthcare professional, student, or simply curious about how new medicines are developed, this conversation offers valuable insight into the systems that shape the future of healthcare innovation in Africa.

🎧 Listen now and discover how stronger regulatory systems can help Africa lead the next generation of clinical research.

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Ebola, Diagnostics, and Africa’s Scientific Future: Dr. Tariro Makadzange on the Bundibugyo Outbreak

A new Ebola outbreak in Central Africa is raising urgent questions about disease preparedness, diagnostic capacity, vaccine development, and Africa’s ability to respond to emerging health threats.

In this episode of the ACRN Health Podcast, Dr. Wilfred Gurupira sits down with Dr. Tariro Makadzange, CEO of the Africa Clinical Research Network, infectious disease physician, and vaccine immunologist, to unpack the science behind the current Bundibugyo Ebola virus outbreak and why it presents unique challenges for public health systems. 

Together, they explore:

•  Why this Ebola outbreak is different from previous outbreaks 
•  The Bundibugyo strain and why existing Ebola vaccines and therapeutics may not be effective against it 
•  How diagnostic gaps delayed outbreak detection 
•  The critical role of genomic surveillance and laboratory capacity 
•  Why Africa must invest in its own scientific and diagnostic infrastructure 
•  The challenges of developing vaccines and treatments for diseases with limited commercial incentives 
•  What this outbreak reveals about clinical research, public health preparedness, and healthcare systems across the continent 
•  How ACRN is working toward an "always-ready" clinical research ecosystem for future outbreaks 
•  Why stronger science, stronger health systems, and stronger collaboration are essential for Africa’s future 

Dr. Makadzange also shares a powerful vision for Africa’s life sciences future—one where African scientists, institutions, and innovators lead the development of diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, and clinical research that address the continent’s most pressing health challenges. 

This is a timely conversation about infectious disease preparedness, scientific sovereignty, and the investments needed today to protect future generations.

Listen now and join the conversation on the future of clinical research and public health in Africa.

#Ebola #PublicHealth #ClinicalResearch #AfricaCDC #InfectiousDiseases #Vaccines #Diagnostics #GlobalHealth #LifeSciences #ACRN #HealthInnovation #DiseasePreparedness #Genomics #AfricaHealth #MedicalResearch

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In this episode of The ACRN Health Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Huwaida Bulhan — physician, public health expert— for a powerful conversation on “Clinical Trials as a Global Industry: Who Benefits and How?”

Together, we unpack the realities behind the global clinical trials ecosystem, a market worth more than $60 billion, and ask the difficult but necessary questions:

•  Who truly benefits from clinical research?
•  Why does Africa currently represent only 1% of the global clinical trials market?
•  What does it mean for Africa to move from being an “end user” to a full participant in healthcare innovation?
•  And what would success look like for African-led science and medicine?

Dr. Bulhan shares her deeply personal journey from working in underserved healthcare settings in Kenya to leadership roles in global clinical research, while exploring the future of African participation in medicine, research, and healthcare systems.

This is a bold, thought-provoking conversation about equity, innovation, science, and Africa’s role in shaping the future of global health.

Listen now and follow The ACRN Health Podcast for more conversations at the intersection of healthcare, research, innovation, and Africa’s future.

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In this episode of the ACRN Health Podcast, host Dr Wilfred Gurupira convenes a roundtable discussion with Prof Collen Masimirembwa (AiBST) and Prof Brighton Samatanga (The Biotech Institute) to explore how Africa can transition from participating in clinical trials to building a sustainable, homegrown life sciences industry.

The conversation examines the structural, scientific, and economic foundations required to build a thriving ecosystem, including:

• Clinical research as a foundation for industry
• The gap between scientific discovery and commercialization
• Building and sustaining institutions in Africa
• Talent, risk, and the realities of building locally
• The role of partnerships and ecosystem thinking
• Africa’s competitiveness in the global life sciences landscape
• The economic potential of investing in life sciences

Grounded in practical experience and candid reflection, this discussion offers a strategic perspective on what it will take to build Africa’s life sciences future from within.