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Miriam Mutebi: Africa isn’t Lacking Ideas, We’re Lacking Platforms to Share Them

Miriam Mutebi/LinkedIn

Jul 25, 2025, 09:47

Miriam Mutebi: Africa isn’t Lacking Ideas, We’re Lacking Platforms to Share Them

Miriam Mutebi, Breast Surgical Oncologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Aga Khan University Hospital, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Africa isn’t lacking ideas. We’re lacking platforms to share them.

That’s why we’re building, publishing, and collaborating on our terms, for our people.

Day 2 of the Basic and Translational Cancer Research Symposium was both sobering and energizing.

I had the privilege of delivering the keynote address on Cancer Research in Africa, where I highlighted not just how far we’ve come, but how much work remains ahead.

Despite progress, Africa contributes only about 8% of African biomedical research output and less than 3% of global total cancer research. And of that, nearly 67% comes from just five countries in North Africa.

This isn’t just a gap. It’s a call to action! As I shared in my remarks, a quote by Achebe, ‘One does not live by a river and wash their hands with spittle.’

Africa is not a resource-poor continent. We are resource-replete. Our challenge lies in how we optimize and mobilize what we already have to generate evidence, improve care, and scale what works. I also introduced a core reason we’re investing in the new AORTIC Africa Journal.

As the African proverb reminds us, ‘Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter.’ We must tell our own stories, with data, with integrity, and with vision.

The rest of day 2 focused on:

Building capacity for cancer clinical trials across Africa
Strengthening the basic and translational research landscape
Brainstorming collaborative models for multidisciplinary team science

It was especially inspiring to connect with emerging researchers, surgeons, and oncologists, many female, with amazing stories to share! A powerful reminder that Africa’s future in research is bold, bright, and deeply grounded in lived experience.

Let’s keep building the systems that make our stories and our science impossible to ignore.“

Miriam Mutebi: Africa isn’t Lacking Ideas, We’re Lacking Platforms to Share Them