Maximising human health and development through synergistic partnerships: the African Biobank and Longitudinal Epidemiological Ecosystem

Abstract

Health is pivotal to human development. Nevertheless, progress towards achieving improved health worldwide has been slow, especially in Africa.1, 2 Accelerated progress is only possible with synergistic partnerships, one model of which involves four stakeholders: academia, policy makers, industry, and civil society—the so-called quadruple helix.3, 4 Academia (ie, higher-education institutions and research organisations) provides novel theories and ideas and conducts rigorous research, resulting in new understanding and solutions.5 Industry (eg, pharmaceutical, medical equipment manufacturing, and information-technology companies) leads entrepreneurship, product development, scaling up solutions, and population-wide commercialisation. Policy makers (ie, governments and multilateral agencies) work to improve, promote, and protect the health and wealth of populations by providing political, legal or legislative, ethical, anthropological, and socioeconomic regulatory frameworks for an egalitarian society, with inclusive and sustainable development for all.