Networking and capacity building for health research in Central Africa.

Successful research programs on Tropical diseases are closely linked with access to patients and biological material to conduct relevant basic research and develop new interventions. Therefore, the strategy for establishing true collaborations with the local scientific community working in these affected areas has to be carefully examined. The Institute of Tropical Medicine at the University Tübingen utilizes a challenging model which requires a long term commitment and investment in human resources and research environment. In the past year, a new partnership supported by European and African initiatives including the Institute for Tropical Medicine has been engaged in Central Africa where institutions like the Medical Research Unit of Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Gabon and the Faculty of Health Sciences of University Marien Ngouabi, Republic of Congo are playing a key role. This could be considered a watershed in the development of health research capacity in Central Africa and rejuvenation in regional collaborations.