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Disease Detection: Nigeria-US Team Wins Big
22 Nov
Summary
- Sentinel program aims to detect emerging pandemics.
- The initiative received a $100 million prize.
- It strengthens early warning systems in Africa.
The Sentinel program, a collaboration between the Broad Institute and African infectious disease experts, has secured a significant $100 million award. This funding is earmarked to enhance an early-warning system designed to detect and prevent emerging pandemics across Africa, starting with Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
The initiative is co-led by computational geneticist Pardis Sabeti and molecular biologist Christian Happi. Their work focuses on rapid, on-the-ground diagnosis of diseases, a critical element highlighted during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa where delays in detection led to devastating consequences.
This award will enable Sentinel to expand its training and operations, empowering local health workers. The goal is to create a robust continent-wide network capable of identifying and containing outbreaks swiftly, thereby safeguarding public health and preventing future epidemics.
