Promoting data management and sharing to advance health research in the sub-region

On 12^th June 2024, WANETAM concluded a Data Management & Data Sharing training hosted by Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Senegal. The training which brought together 16 participants from 8 countries in West Africa, provided participants with a comprehensive foundational study of best practices in research data management. 

Badou Gaye, Head of IT and Bai Lamin Dondeh, Head of Data Management and Architecture at the Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who both co-lead WANETAM’s Data Sharing Work Package, were the lead trainers. According to Badou, the training will boost the capacities of participants to implement robust data management and data sharing processes at their respective institutions, thus contributing towards developing a pool of highly qualified data management personnel in the sub-region. He highlighted that promoting data management and sharing is one of WANETAM approaches to advancing health research in West Africa. 

According to Babacar Thiendella Faye, a Senior Data Manager at Universite Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Senegal, the training provided him an opportunity to better understand the data management lifecycle, from the eCRF development stage, right to the end. “Through the training, I had a better vision of data sharing and how to prepare all my datasets according to CIA and FAIR guiding principles and ensuring that all research processes must be in accordance with GCP requirements” he said. 

For Alasan Jallow, a Data Support Assistant at MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM, the training enhanced his skills in implementing crucial data management and data sharing processes. “The training provided me an opportunity to interact with and learn from colleagues from other countries and institutions as well as to explore tried and recommended best practices in the field of data management” he mentioned. 

The training also introduced participants to the Network’s data management and sharing platform dubbed Health Data Research West Africa (HDRWA) which securely hosts health research data and enables data access to researchers who can use the data for novel research analysis, while guided by a governance framework.