Biostatistics in Africa 2019: A Special Issue of The International Journal of Biostatistics

Abstract

Within a few decades Africa will be the continent with the youngest, most dynamic population whose thirst for knowledge and creativity have the potential to reshape the academic landscape. The mathematical community is well aware of this wonderful opportunity. The turn of the millennium saw the establishment of several programs aiming to build ties between the African, American and European mathematical and statistical communities. For instance, the pan-African network of African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) centres, African Mathematics Millenium Science Initiative (AMMSI), Centre International de Mathématiques Pures et Appliquées (CIMPA), Statistique pour l’Afrique Francophone et Applications au Vivant (STAFAV, Statistics for Francophone Africa and Applications to Life Science) program and the Jeunes Statisticiens (Young Statisticians) group of the Société Française de Statistique have fostered intercontinental collaborative research and trained students and teachers at the postgraduate level. The African statistical community has an extensive history. In 1959, the First Conference of African Statisticians met in Ethiopia to assess the statistical needs and priorities in Africa, primarily for the purpose of reporting population and economic statistics. Topics discussed during this meeting included the need for methods that account for the underreporting in birth and death records and the importance of randomization in survey sampling [1]. On a more foundational level, the conference participants emphasized the importance of communication, both between African statisticians via “technical reports of sample surveys and other statistical investigations in Africa” and with policymakers in order to demonstrate “the value of statistics as an instrument for the rationalization of government decisions and activities”. In 1961, participants at the Second Conference of African Statisticians encouraged the further “establishment of research centres for statistical work at the postgraduate level” [2]. Since that time, a large number of African universities have established postgraduate training programs. To create a unifying organization for the vibrant community of young African statisticians, in 2009 the International Statistics Institute (ISI) established the ISIbalo African Young Statisticians Programme [3, 4]. The organization recently successfully held its fifth conference, bringing together over a hundred young researchers from eighteen African countries. After these many decades of progress, Africa’s young and dynamic population now has the opportunity to leverage this growing statistical culture to quantitatively identify and solve the social, economic, and health challenges facing the continent. In this special issue titled “Biostatistics in Africa 2019”, The International Journal of Biostatistics wishes to pay tribute to Africa’s statistical and epidemiological communities and to inspire young students to join them. The