Improved infectious diseases research and surveillance in Ethiopia through capacity building in bioinformatics and sequencing

Even though bioinformatics and genomics are relatively new biomedical disciplines, they have already made important contributions to the health of patients and populations. Bioinformatics and genome sequencing capacity in Ethiopia is however extremely limited. African scientists are well positioned to play an important role in sequencing-based surveillance and research because the cost of sequencing technologies has dropped dramatically, internet connectivity is constantly improving, and bioinformatics software tools are often freely available. We propose to develop sustainable capacity in bioinformatics and sequencing surveillance and research through an academic collaboration between Ethiopia, South Africa and Belgium. We selected topics of local public health importance: hospital acquired infections, vector borne diseases and tuberculosis. For these diseases, sequencing can significantly improve diagnostics, surveillance and control, thus contributing to better health of the population of Ethiopia.