The North-West University (NWU) is one of the pioneers in nutrition research in Africa. The leading role the NWU’s Centre of Excellence for Nutrition (CEN) plays in the collaboration with the University of Ghana (UG) and the Nutricia Research Foundation (NRF), can attest to that.

The second phase of this collaboration to establish and further strengthen nutrition research capacity in Africa has just begun.

Dr Robin Dolman, the project leader at CEN, says the first phase of the co-operation began in 2014 with the funding of five master’s student scholarships, three from Ghana and two from South Africa. The first phase also included a staff exchange programme for academics in Ghana who were busy with their PhD’s.

“The success of the first phase enabled us to successfully apply for funding amounting to a million Euros for the second phase over the next four years,” says Dr Dolman.

Prof Johann Jerling, Ms Cornelia Conradie, Prof Edelweiss Wentzel-VIljoen and Ms Marlize Korff play an integral part in this initiative.

“We foresee that CEN will continue to support and equip staff of the UG to enable them in turn to provide the same support to their surrounding countries,” says Dr Dolman “The NWU will focus on countries surrounding South-Africa, and this will enable the two universities to function as nutrition research hubs in Africa.”

She says that CEN and the UG will share their expertise and resources with each other and will present courses together and provide material that can be used to equip and empower postgraduate students and nutrition professionals in other African countries.

“With this funding we can support 22 bursaries for master’s studies. The UG will focus on students from surrounding countries such as Liberia and Sierra Leone, and the NWU will focus on students from South-Africa and other countries such as Botswana and Malawi.

“The second phase will also include a biannual formalised PhD support programme for 20 PhD students from across Africa,” says Dr Dolman. “They will attend a three week long structured programme at the NWU where training will be provided on a number of core methodological subjects that are indispensable for each PhD student. The aim of the programme is to provide guidance and mentorship – not only for obtaining their PhDs, but also to build careers as researchers in nutrition.”

Dr Dolman says the successful staff exchange programme will continue during the second phase, since it plays a vital role in the support and capacity building of academic staff of CEN, the UG and other participating countries.

She says this whole initiative is owed to the excellent work done for decades by one of the NWU’s stalwarts in nutritional research, Prof Este Vorster. “She is a remarkable researcher with a passion for nutrition which opened many doors for nutrition researchers in Africa.”

Dr Dolman says the main aim of the collaboration is to establish and strengthen nutrition research and leadership capacity in Africa, and to develop experts in nutrition in several countries that face ever-increasing malnutrition.

 At the launch of the second phase of the collaboration programme are from left Dr Matilda Asanté, head of the Department for Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Ghana, Prof Fré Pepping, representative of the Nutricia Research Foundation and the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands, Dr Robin Dolman, project leader of the Centre of excellence for nutrition at the NWU, and Prof Edelwiess Wentzel-Viljoen, extraordinary professor at CEN.