Welcome to The African Researcher, a platform dedicated to showcasing the people and projects driving health research across the continent. We talk to scientists in the region about their research studies, what motivates them, and the priorities guiding their choices in context. They reflect on their methods and collaborations, ethics and logistics, funding realities, and the day‑to‑day of doing health research where they live and work. They also offer practical advice for students, early‑career professionals, and teams looking to enter the sector or scale their efforts. Each week brings a new feature from researchers whose findings inform policy and practice in Africa—check back regularly to meet the people behind the papers, follow the questions they’re pursuing, and discover work worth watching next.

My name is Sumana Dhanani, and I am a public health researcher and Health Communications enthusiast based at the University of Rwanda in Kigali, Rwanda. I’ve always been drawn to research and academia, and my favorite part of the job is being meeting with incredible scientists who work tirelessly to form partnerships, build capacity and ultimately advance high quality African-led health research to shape policy and practice on the continent. This blog is a simple platform to share my conversations with researchers, so their research questions, approaches, and insights travel further. I love talking to researchers doing amazing health research —and this is an opportunity to share those conversations.

If you’re leading or contributing to health research in Africa and would like to be featured, let’s connect!