INTERSECT Africa in-person meeting

The INTERSECT Africa in-person meeting was held on the 2^nd-3^rd September 2025 at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Malawi. It was a wonderful meeting with participation from researchers in 14 African countries, from the East, West and South of Africa. Countries represented were Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Israel and United Kingdom.

The INTERSECT Africa participants

There were inspiring talks from the co-lead of INTERSECT Africa, Professor Genesis Chorwe-Sungani (Malawi), the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Professor Belinda Gombachika (Malawi), Co-founders of INTERSECT Professor Susan Ayers (City St Georges, UK) and Professor Jonathan Handelzalts (Israel), and Specialist Nurse in Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing, Elizabeth Mwangala (Malawi).

Participants took part in fruitful group discussions about how INTERSECT can be carried out in African countries. Furthermore discussions focussed on, ethics, data sharing, publications, mentoring and funding. Sub-groups on various topics were formed including childbirth experience and respectful maternity care, fear of childbirth, bonding, ethics and funding.

Plans to ensure the sustainability of INTERSECT Africa were put in place, and our next online meeting will be held in October,2025. We are grateful to the Academy of Medical Sciences for awarding us the Networking Grant which meant this fantastic meeting could happen to provide a strong foundation for collaborative international research in Africa.