In this second episode of our mini-series on Research Capacity Strengthening (RCS), we explore what it means to widen the focus of capacity strengthening, beyond researchers and clinicians, to include media, programme managers, community leaders, teachers, caregivers, and more.

Hosted on location at the PACTS Year 3 Partners Meeting, this episode shows how the PACTS programme (Patient-centred Sickle Cell Disease Management in sub-Saharan Africa) has embedded a more inclusive and cyclical approach to RCS. You’ll hear how strengthening media capacity, using content analysis, and co-developing strategies with non-clinical stakeholders can make health systems more responsive and sustainable. We also look at how information itself, when shared in the right way with patients and communities, can be a powerful form of capacity strengthening.

In this episode:

Dr. Motto Nganda – Global Health Researcher: Collaborative Implementation Research for Health Systems Strengthening, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Motto is a medical and public health professional from the University of Douala and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. He brings over six years’ experience in participatory implementation research, focusing on person-centred care and health system strengthening in the Global South. In PACTS, Motto supports implementation research across all three countries, coordinating participatory action cycles, standards-based audits, and realist evaluation.

Bernard Appiah - Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health, Falk College, Syracuse University

Bernard is a pharmacist, journalist, and Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health, Syracuse University, USA. He is also Director of the Centre for Science and Health Communication in Ghana. With expertise in media, health communication, and public engagement, Bernard leads the media content analysis and communication work for PACTS. His work connects journalists and researchers, builds capacity through joint training, and strengthens how sickle cell disease is communicated across public platforms and policy.

Reuben Chianumba - Programme Manager for the PACTS Project, Centre of Excellence for Sickle Cell Research and Training (CESRTA), University of Abuja

Reuben is the Programme Manager for PACTS in Nigeria, with a background in Medical Biochemistry and extensive experience in research coordination, stakeholder engagement, and community mobilisation. He supports the delivery of PACTS objectives at CESRTA and plays a key role in integrating newborn screening, capacity-building workshops, and local advocacy efforts.

Useful Links:

• Patient-Centered Sickle Cell Disease Management in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Patient-centred sickle cell disease management in sub-Saharan Africa (PACTS) | LSTM

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The podcast cuts across disciplines, including health systems strengthening, gender and intersectionality, tropical diseases (NTDs, TB, Malaria), maternal and child healthcare (antenatal and postnatal care), mental health and wellbeing, vector-borne diseases, climate change and co-production approaches.

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