Widening participation would be key in enhancing bioinformatics and genomics research in Africa

Karikari, Thomas K.; Quansah, Emmanuel; Mohamed, Wael M.Y.

For a more effective BGS development in Africa, special attention should be paid to widening participation to include yet-unreached institutions especially those in rural areas with peculiar challenges (Karikari, 2015a) . Scientists based in rural RHEIs are strategically positioned to help advance BGS applications in Africa. This is because the use of BGS on the continent has focused mainly on research in biomedical science and agriculture, which are areas of prime importance and challenge to rural communities Karikari, 2015a) . While the agricultural industry is concentrated in rural Africa, many healthcare challenges (including neglected tropical diseases and malaria) are also acute in rural areas, making them an important focus for genomics research and bioinformatics applications. With regard to this, the recent EVD outbreak started from a rural community in Guinea, but due to the poor nature of rural healthcare and research systems, ended up spreading and killing several people in West Africa and even affected others in Europe and North America (imported cases) (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, USA, 2015) . This is a clear example supporting the opinion that the widening gap between rural scientists and their counterparts elsewhere must be addressed.