Guinea celebrates national scientific research week under the sign of resilience and ambition

This Monday, December 2, 2024 marks the official opening of the National Week of Scientific Research and Innovation (SENARI) and the annual Research and Innovation Prize (PARI), coupled with the celebration of the centenary of the Institute of Applied Biology Research of Guinea (IRBAG). The event takes place in Kindia, within the historic grounds of this institute, formerly known as Pastoria, symbol of a century of scientific progress in Guinea.

Placed under the aegis of the Guinean government, this second edition of SENARI, which will be held from December 2 to 7, 2024, brings together a wide range of stakeholders: researchers, traditional practitioners, innovators, academic and scientific institutions, as well as national and international partners.

A meeting for the Guinean scientific community

Alpha Bacar Barry, Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, officially launched this week's work, highlighting its importance in taking stock of the country's scientific achievements and in defining an ambitious vision for the decades to come.

“The recent health crises have revealed the need to strengthen our local capacities in terms of scientific research and the search for appropriate solutions,” he declared, emphasizing the strategic and symbolic nature of this event.

The legacy of IRBAG

Founded a hundred years ago under the name of the Pasteur Institute of Guinea, IRBAG is today positioned as a pillar of scientific research in West Africa. Through infrastructures reminiscent of antiquity, including a laboratory, a zoo and a doctoral school, the institute demonstrates remarkable resilience in the face of the challenges of time.

Professor Mohamed Sahar Traoré, Director General of IRBAG, welcomed his counterparts from the Guinean scientific world with enthusiasm. His speech highlighted the scientific advances made by the institution, while reaffirming its key role in the fight against health crises.

“For a century, we have worked tirelessly to understand, prevent and combat endemic diseases that affect our populations. I am referring in particular to malaria, tuberculosis, Ebola and COVID. This centenary marks the celebration of all these successes,” rejoices Professor Mohamed Sahar Traoré.

Further, he reminds the scientific community gathered for the occasion that in matters of health, agriculture, energy and even information technologies, progress must be based on the judicious exploitation of scientific knowledge and local innovations. “However, despite the progress recorded in the field of scientific research in our country, there remains considerable work to be done to fully mobilize the scientific and technological potential in order to effectively meet the expectations of our citizens. It is precisely in this dynamic that this ceremony fits” specifies Professor Sahar.

Panels, competitions and scientific popularization

This high-level scientific week is punctuated by various events, including conferences, workshops and panels. Emphasis is also placed on the popularization of research results through the Annual Research and Innovation Prize (PARI), which will reward the best national scientific contribution.

“Under the theme Scientific Research in Guinea: After a century, this edition aims to be a space for collective reflection on the past, present and future of Guinean research”, adds the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation.

A bridge between tradition and modernity

By bringing together traditional practitioners and scientists, this SENARI illustrates Guinea's desire to promote both its traditional knowledge and its technological advances. An inclusive approach which demonstrates the country's ambition to build a future where innovation and tradition coexist harmoniously.

According to Professor Elhadj Saidou Baldé, Director General of the Institute for Research and Development of Medicinal and Food Plants of Guinea (IRDPMAG), this week is the most important of the year at IRDPMAG, because 17 of their researchers are in Kindia all week to present the different research activities of the institute.

« This year, the particularity lies in the fact that everything presented here is the result of research activities carried out during the year 2024. Faithful to our usual research strategy, we start from a health problem identified within a community, we are interested in the traditional knowledge used by this community to solve this problem, then we return to the laboratory to establish scientific evidence based on the information collected. We are working intensively so that during the first quarter of 2025, at least one traditional category 2 medicine resulting from our research can be in the clinical evaluation phase in our health structures. The final objective, by the end of 2025, is to enter the development phase of improved traditional category 2 or even category 3 medicines. », affirms the Director General of IRDPMAG.

This celebration of the centenary of IRBAG and the 2nd edition of SENARI reaffirms Guinea's commitment to positioning itself as a key player in regional and international scientific research, while responding to local needs with adapted and sustainable solutions.

Mamadou Kindy Bah from Kindia for UniverSciences