Coming From Eleven Countries Across Africa, meet the 2nd cohort of Early Career Researchers (ECRs) researching on FP/SRHR and gender in Africa

We are delighted to announce our latest 20 outstanding Early Career Researchers who were selected from over 150 applications received in 2023. The fellows come from ten countries across four regions of Africa (Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Togo, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia).

The African Research and Data Use Capacity Building (AfRes-Data) programme seeks to strengthen the capacities of African population scientists to generate cutting-edge research to address population and development issues in Africa through capacity development of the next generation of researchers, creating platforms for data use, dissemination, and networking, and increasing Union for African Population Studies (UAPS) capacity and functioning to achieve its mission and objectives. UAPS is committed to building the capacity of a wider net of early career researchers (Anglophone, Francophone, and Lusophone) and offering them the opportunity to showcase their research on highly visible platforms such as regional conferences or in peer-reviewed journals, including the African Population Studies journal. AfRes-Data supports the development of an early career researcher (ECR) development program for recent doctoral graduates (within three years of graduation) and PhD candidates working on population and development issues in Africa, including FP/SRHR issues, to build a critical mass of ECRs in population studies research and communication Our new fellows will undertake both in-person and virtual workshops as well as a six months mentorship program. The UAPS ECR fellowship provides a platform for early career researchers to acquire research skills, network and foster relationships with experts in the field of population studies and demography through our mentoring program as well as opens an opportunity for potential collaborations post-fellowship.

The second cohort, joining the first cohort of 17 fellows, have a wide range of research interests from female genital schistosomiasis, sexuality and gynaecological healthcare to the impact of climate change, food security, mobile apps on FP/SRHR issues for both majority and minority populations. For full profiles of each fellow see here.

If you would like to be in our next cohort of fellows, then keep track of our website, Facebook, X
(Twitter) and LinkedIn pages for more tips and applications reminders.

Our fellowship is only possible as a result of the support received from the Bill and Melinda Gates
foundation