U54TW012077
Cooperative Agreement
Overview
Grant Description
MADIVA (Multimorbidity in Africa: Digital Innovation, Visualisation and Application) - Project Summary –
MADIVA: Multimorbidity in Africa: Digital Innovation, Visualisation and Application Research Hub. Our research hub will develop data science to address the complex interplay, individual and public health challenges, and rising prevalence of multimorbidity in Africans.
Epidemiological transition in Africa has greatly changed health risks at both individual and public health levels. Trauma, infectious & non-communicable diseases are major health challenges; multiple occurrences multiply burdens for individuals and communities. The inherent value from the increasingly rich and varied existing data has not been exploited.
We have rich longitudinal epidemiological data sets, partial but increasingly available clinical and laboratory records, and genomic data. The data, as is common in the domain, is highly heterogeneous, and in parts, fragmented and incomplete.
The hub will be led by the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg collaborating with the African Population and Health Research Center (Nairobi, Kenya), IBM Research Africa, the South African Population Research Infrastructure Network, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The initial sites are an urban population in Nairobi, and a rural, transitioning, site in Bushbuckridge, South Africa: each has rich longitudinal data of >100,000 individuals. Although incomplete, clinical records are increasingly being captured digitally. Notably, there is genomic data from a subset of individuals at each of the sites.
Multimorbidity is inherently multi-factorial — fragmented unlinked data retards solutions. Project 1 focuses on linking. Integrated data sets will aid in understanding these communities, representative of many in Africa, and protocols developed will be applicable elsewhere. A researcher dashboard will allow researchers to find data and plan projects. A clinic dashboard will help clinic managers and health officials to monitor and plan effectively.
Project 2 will be solution-oriented to develop novel data science methods to provide actionable insights. We will develop robust methods for risk profiling of individuals and communities using heterogeneous data. We pioneer the use of polygenic risk scores in Africa. Key data science questions are explicability of results and managing high-dimensional data without loss of power. An innovative aspect of our grant will be translational work with public precision health to provide insights into drug dispensing, pharmacogenomics, and behavioral or possible social interventions.
The capacity development & pilot project core will support a tiered set of pilot projects for African researchers at different career stages, leveraging our strong research platforms and networks. We aim to build capacity in key areas including incubation and cost modeling for data science.
The administrative and leadership core will provide the necessary leadership and project management and linking to other DS-I components. The data management and analysis core will develop protocols for the responsible sharing of data, data quality control, technical support as well as innovate new analysis techniques.
MADIVA: Multimorbidity in Africa: Digital Innovation, Visualisation and Application Research Hub. Our research hub will develop data science to address the complex interplay, individual and public health challenges, and rising prevalence of multimorbidity in Africans.
Epidemiological transition in Africa has greatly changed health risks at both individual and public health levels. Trauma, infectious & non-communicable diseases are major health challenges; multiple occurrences multiply burdens for individuals and communities. The inherent value from the increasingly rich and varied existing data has not been exploited.
We have rich longitudinal epidemiological data sets, partial but increasingly available clinical and laboratory records, and genomic data. The data, as is common in the domain, is highly heterogeneous, and in parts, fragmented and incomplete.
The hub will be led by the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg collaborating with the African Population and Health Research Center (Nairobi, Kenya), IBM Research Africa, the South African Population Research Infrastructure Network, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The initial sites are an urban population in Nairobi, and a rural, transitioning, site in Bushbuckridge, South Africa: each has rich longitudinal data of >100,000 individuals. Although incomplete, clinical records are increasingly being captured digitally. Notably, there is genomic data from a subset of individuals at each of the sites.
Multimorbidity is inherently multi-factorial — fragmented unlinked data retards solutions. Project 1 focuses on linking. Integrated data sets will aid in understanding these communities, representative of many in Africa, and protocols developed will be applicable elsewhere. A researcher dashboard will allow researchers to find data and plan projects. A clinic dashboard will help clinic managers and health officials to monitor and plan effectively.
Project 2 will be solution-oriented to develop novel data science methods to provide actionable insights. We will develop robust methods for risk profiling of individuals and communities using heterogeneous data. We pioneer the use of polygenic risk scores in Africa. Key data science questions are explicability of results and managing high-dimensional data without loss of power. An innovative aspect of our grant will be translational work with public precision health to provide insights into drug dispensing, pharmacogenomics, and behavioral or possible social interventions.
The capacity development & pilot project core will support a tiered set of pilot projects for African researchers at different career stages, leveraging our strong research platforms and networks. We aim to build capacity in key areas including incubation and cost modeling for data science.
The administrative and leadership core will provide the necessary leadership and project management and linking to other DS-I components. The data management and analysis core will develop protocols for the responsible sharing of data, data quality control, technical support as well as innovate new analysis techniques.
Awardee
Funding Goals
NOT APPLICABLE
Grant Program (CFDA)
Awarding Agency
Place of Performance
South Africa
Geographic Scope
Foreign
Related Opportunity
Analysis Notes
Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 656753000% from $1 to $6,567,531.
Wits Health Consortium (Pty) was awarded
MADIVA: Multimorbidity in Africa - Data Science for Health
Cooperative Agreement U54TW012077
worth $6,567,531
from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in September 2021 with work to be completed primarily in South Africa.
The grant
has a duration of 4 years 9 months and
was awarded through assistance program 93.310 Trans-NIH Research Support.
The Cooperative Agreement was awarded through grant opportunity Harnessing Data Science for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa (DS-I Africa) Research Hubs (U54 Clinical Trial Optional).
Status
(Ongoing)
Last Modified 9/24/25
Period of Performance
9/15/21
Start Date
6/30/26
End Date
Funding Split
$6.6M
Federal Obligation
$0.0
Non-Federal Obligation
$6.6M
Total Obligated
Activity Timeline
Transaction History
Modifications to U54TW012077
Additional Detail
Award ID FAIN
U54TW012077
SAI Number
U54TW012077-3248473961
Award ID URI
SAI UNAVAILABLE
Awardee Classifications
Non-Domestic (Non-U.S.) Entity
Awarding Office
75NF00 NIH Fogarty International Center
Funding Office
75NA00 NIH OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR
Awardee UEI
KNNNGEN9MQB8
Awardee CAGE
SBN74
Performance District
Not Applicable
Budget Funding
| Federal Account | Budget Subfunction | Object Class | Total | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, Health and Human Services (075-0846) | Health research and training | Grants, subsidies, and contributions (41.0) | $2,392,537 | 92% |
| National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Health and Human Services (075-0898) | Health research and training | Grants, subsidies, and contributions (41.0) | $200,000 | 8% |
Modified: 9/24/25