Health research scientists, administrators, regulators, and policy makers from Southern Africa convened at the Hilton Garden Inn, in Gaborone from 27-28 May 2025 for a two-day high-level meeting of the Trials of Excellence in Southern Africa (TESA) network hosted by the Botswana Harvard Health Partnership (BHP), a key TESA research site.
The meeting aimed to strengthen regional collaboration and promote synchronized health research and regulatory activities across Southern Africa. Key objectives included discussions on Botswana’s ongoing efforts to affiliate with the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) Association and strategic reflections on TESA’s role in advancing health research across Southern Africa. The discussions emphasized enhancing partnerships, developing research capacity, and harmonizing regulatory frameworks through initiatives like the TESA Fellowship Programmes and cross-country regulatory collaboration.
One of the highlights of the event was the presentation of the SouthErn Africa Regulation of Clinical researcH (SEARCH) project. The project’s overarching aim is to strengthen and build the capacity of ethics committees and medicines regulatory bodies while promoting collaboration and joint action between National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) and National Ethics Committees (NECs) across participating Southern African countries. SEARCH seeks to establish harmonized and robust regulatory and ethics procedures and integrate technology solutions for the efficient review of clinical trial applications.
The presentation was delivered by Sibongile Magongo from the Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Eswatini. Botswana is part of the SEARCH consortium through the Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority (BoMRA). Running from 2023 to 2026, the project includes six Southern African countries (Botswana, Kingdom of Lesotho, Kingdom of Eswatini, Namibia, Zambia, and Mozambique), and two European countries, Portugal and the United Kingdom.
The meeting also featured research presentations by TESA Fellows, including two from BHP who have completed their PhD studies. Dr Bonolo Phinius presented her PhD research titled “Hepatitis B virus prevalence and diversity among people living with HIV in rural and peri-urban communities in Botswana,” while Dr Ontlametse Choga shared findings from her study “HIV drug resistance and virologic failure among PLWH with Low-Level Viremia on Dolutegravir-Based ART in Botswana.”
They were joined by current PhD candidates and TESA Fellows Leah Kashiri from Zimbabwe whose research topic focuses on “Genetic diversity of Mycobacterium avium complex species and development of candidate vaccines” and Mirjam Bauleth from Namibia whose research focus is on ‘‘Evaluating Antimicrobial Effects Of Selected Indigenous Medicinal Plants Against Pathogens Isolated From Clinical Samples At Namibia Institute Of Pathology’’, further demonstrating the programme’s role in nurturing emerging scientific talent across the region.
TESA, supported by EDCTP, spans 15 research sites across nine southern African (Angola, Botswana, eSwatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe) and three European countries(France, The Netherlands, Spain. The network plays a critical role in fostering regional research excellence, regulatory alignment, and sustainable health innovation.
