International Conference on Diagnostic Innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Dakar at the Heart of African Health Sovereignty
Dakar, Senegal 22 to 25 June 2026. For four days, the Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) brought together researchers, policymakers, institutional partners and industry actors from across the continent and Europe, on the occasion of the International Conference on Diagnostic Innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Co-organised by the research consortia UTI-Diag, HoliCare, DIDIDA and PvSeroRDT all funded by the European Union (EDCTP3/UKRI) and all partners of IPD the gathering reaffirmed a shared conviction: the future of health in Africa depends in large part on the ability to diagnose fast, accurately, and locally. An Opening Marked by Health Sovereignty The opening ceremony, held at Hôtel Ndiambour and presided over by Dr Ibrahima Sy, Minister of Health and Social Action, immediately set the tone for the conference. Dr Ibrahima Socé Fall, Director General of the Institut Pasteur de Dakar, recalled that diagnostics play a role at every stage of medicine and epidemiology and determine the effectiveness of the response to health crises, noting that the continent registers a new epidemic on average every three days. For him, every hour gained in identifying a case translates directly into lives saved and transmission chains broken a message delivered with clear conviction: “the speed of diagnosis determines the speed of the response.” Minister Ibrahima Sy, for his part, stressed that lasting health resilience is impossible without a diagnostic capacity that is both robust and sovereign, recalling that Senegal has made the strategic choice to invest in research, biotechnology and local production of health products, in line with its National Transformation Agenda 2050. He praised the concrete results already achieved by the Senegalese ecosystem, including the growing maturity of the national pharmaceutical regulatory agency, now WHO-recognised. Both officials called for international cooperation grounded in co-construction rather than assistance a philosophy embodied daily by the four consortia gathered in Dakar, including UTI-Diag, through their balanced partnerships between African and European institutions. UTI-Diag was represented on this first day by Giulia Gaudenzi, Assistant Professor in the Department of Global Public Health at Karolinska Institutet and Co-Principal Investigator of the project alongside Prof. Tobias Alfvén. She recalled the scale of the challenge posed by urinary tract infections an estimated 150 to 240 million cases worldwide each year, close to 80% caused by E. coli followed by Klebsiella, both bacteria directly implicated in rising antimicrobial resistance and highlighted the limitations of the screening tools currently available in the field. She placed particular emphasis on the leading role played by the project’s African partners in advancing the clinical trial: “We received the ethical permit to conduct a clinical trial on two novel diagnostics, and thanks to our colleagues at IPD Dakar and CPC Cameroon, who are coordinating the trial in their respective countries,” she said, adding that the trial aims to recruit around 500 patients per country, including the most at-risk populations. She went on to present the two devices developed by the consortium a simple lateral flow screening test and a more advanced point-of-care test capable of identifying the bacteria involved and any resistance markers designed to be precise, low-cost, and usable even at the most modest healthcare facilities. Four Days of Science, Training and Coordination Day 1 Policy & Strategy (Hôtel Ndiambour) laid the scientific and institutional groundwork for the week: cross-project presentations from all four consortia, expert sessions on antimicrobial resistance, respiratory and vector-borne infections, and a high-level panel on the continent’s diagnostic challenges. Day 2 Students & Innovation (Institut Pasteur de Dakar) put the spotlight on the next generation of African researchers, with a poster session led by PhD candidates and early-career scientists, hands-on workshops (microscopy, molecular biology, RDT best practices), and technology demonstrations from exhibitors including Capitainer. Day 3 Training & Community Engagement (Institut Pasteur de Dakar) featured a hands-on training session on rapid diagnostic tools, led by Anna Hollander (Capitainer) for researchers and partner representatives from across the consortium’s member countries. Discussion continued with active participant engagement, reflecting strong interest in these tools for their own research and field contexts. Alongside this, community engagement activities a public TEDx-style science talk and a mobile laboratory deployment brought the conference’s work directly to local communities. Day 4 UTI-Diag Annual Meeting & Conference Closing (Institut Pasteur de Dakar) was dedicated to the UTI-Diag consortium’s annual meeting: presentation of Year 1 scientific results, review of key performance indicators (KPIs), and discussion of the project’s contribution to public health policy. The financial and administrative session provided an update on project management, ahead of discussions on lessons learned and the post-project sustainability strategy. The conference closed with an overall summary, recommendations for Year 2, and the traditional gathering of all partners for the official group photo. In Closing This conference confirmed the momentum of a strong, engaged African scientific ecosystem, driven by collaboration between four research consortia around a shared goal: innovative, accessible diagnostic tools for the benefit of all populations, including children, pregnant women, older adults and patients with comorbidities. Thank you to all partners, speakers and participants for four days of rich exchange. Next steps: follow-up on the conference recommendations, preparation for Year 2 of the project, and continued field missions including in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in July 2026.
