U54TW012087
Cooperative Agreement
Overview
Grant Description
Harnessing Data Science to Promote Equity in Injury and Surgery for Africa - Project Summary/Abstract
Trauma and other surgically treated conditions are a crippling, unaddressed burden of disease that disproportionately impacts Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) globally. The Data Science Center for the Study of Surgery, Injury, and Equity in Africa (D-SINE-Africa) is a strategic partnership between the University of Buea (Buea), the University of California (Los Angeles (UCLA) and Berkeley), the Cameroonian Ministry of Public Health, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cameroon, and the University of Cape Town in South Africa.
D-SINE Africa will address the intersection of health disparities with the risk factors and outcomes associated with injury and surgical disease in SSA. Although more abundant than ever, data is still a limited resource in low- and middle-income countries. Our approach views "big data" available in SSA as an opportunity to develop sustainable data-constrained approaches appropriate for resource-constrained settings.
Thus, data science will be harnessed to address our hub's two main goals which are:
1) To decrease the burden of injuries and surgical diseases through improved surveillance, prevention, and treatment; and
2) To improve access to quality surgical care in Cameroon and other SSA countries.
These goals will be achieved through three specific aims:
1) Research
2) Networking
3) Capacity building.
These aims will be implemented through three cores: Administrative, Data Management and Analysis, and Capacity Building Cores, and two research projects that will be conducted in Cameroon, South Africa, and Uganda.
Research Project 1 - Health Equity Surveillance addresses the urgent gap in rapid socioeconomic (SES) estimation necessary to track health equity in acute care settings by applying a clustering algorithm to existing publicly available demographic and health surveys datasets for SSA.
Research Project 2 - Trauma Follow-up Prediction aims to improve trauma outcomes by using machine learning to optimize a mobile phone-based screening survey that will identify which trauma patients would benefit from further care after they are discharged from the hospital. This project also utilizes a data reduction "big data to small data" approach in line with the hub's commitment to sustainable data use practices.
These projects utilize common data sources (Cameroon Trauma Registry), have harmonizing themes (injury, equity, and data reduction), and will yield findings that can be used together (e.g., identification of SES groups vulnerable to poor follow-up care).
The hub has innovatively built community engagement vehicles into the internal advisory board to promote a multi-faceted approach to building trust with research participants and end-users.
D-SINE Africa efforts will drive innovation and impact in data science, injury, and equity research to improve access to surgical disease prevention and care, including those whose SES conspires to increase their vulnerability to injury and surgical conditions while reducing consistent surgical care access.
D-SINE Africa's strategic partners' joint infrastructure is available for use by its members and the DSI-Africa consortium at large.
Trauma and other surgically treated conditions are a crippling, unaddressed burden of disease that disproportionately impacts Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) globally. The Data Science Center for the Study of Surgery, Injury, and Equity in Africa (D-SINE-Africa) is a strategic partnership between the University of Buea (Buea), the University of California (Los Angeles (UCLA) and Berkeley), the Cameroonian Ministry of Public Health, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cameroon, and the University of Cape Town in South Africa.
D-SINE Africa will address the intersection of health disparities with the risk factors and outcomes associated with injury and surgical disease in SSA. Although more abundant than ever, data is still a limited resource in low- and middle-income countries. Our approach views "big data" available in SSA as an opportunity to develop sustainable data-constrained approaches appropriate for resource-constrained settings.
Thus, data science will be harnessed to address our hub's two main goals which are:
1) To decrease the burden of injuries and surgical diseases through improved surveillance, prevention, and treatment; and
2) To improve access to quality surgical care in Cameroon and other SSA countries.
These goals will be achieved through three specific aims:
1) Research
2) Networking
3) Capacity building.
These aims will be implemented through three cores: Administrative, Data Management and Analysis, and Capacity Building Cores, and two research projects that will be conducted in Cameroon, South Africa, and Uganda.
Research Project 1 - Health Equity Surveillance addresses the urgent gap in rapid socioeconomic (SES) estimation necessary to track health equity in acute care settings by applying a clustering algorithm to existing publicly available demographic and health surveys datasets for SSA.
Research Project 2 - Trauma Follow-up Prediction aims to improve trauma outcomes by using machine learning to optimize a mobile phone-based screening survey that will identify which trauma patients would benefit from further care after they are discharged from the hospital. This project also utilizes a data reduction "big data to small data" approach in line with the hub's commitment to sustainable data use practices.
These projects utilize common data sources (Cameroon Trauma Registry), have harmonizing themes (injury, equity, and data reduction), and will yield findings that can be used together (e.g., identification of SES groups vulnerable to poor follow-up care).
The hub has innovatively built community engagement vehicles into the internal advisory board to promote a multi-faceted approach to building trust with research participants and end-users.
D-SINE Africa efforts will drive innovation and impact in data science, injury, and equity research to improve access to surgical disease prevention and care, including those whose SES conspires to increase their vulnerability to injury and surgical conditions while reducing consistent surgical care access.
D-SINE Africa's strategic partners' joint infrastructure is available for use by its members and the DSI-Africa consortium at large.
Awardee
Funding Goals
NOT APPLICABLE
Grant Program (CFDA)
Awarding Agency
Place of Performance
Cameroon
Geographic Scope
Foreign
Related Opportunity
Analysis Notes
Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 3062% from $219,064 to $6,927,830.
University Of Buea was awarded
Harnessing Data Science to Promote Equity in Injury and Surgery for Africa
Cooperative Agreement U54TW012087
worth $6,927,830
from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in September 2021 with work to be completed primarily in Cameroon.
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
$6.9M
Federal Obligation
$0.0
Non-Federal Obligation
$6.9M
Total Obligated
Activity Timeline
Transaction History
Modifications to U54TW012087
Additional Detail
Award ID FAIN
U54TW012087
SAI Number
U54TW012087-4223607520
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
C6X9CJMRH9V6
Awardee CAGE
SDG81
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) | $2,460,936 | 86% |
| John E. Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Health and Human Services (075-0819) | Health research and training | Grants, subsidies, and contributions (41.0) | $400,000 | 14% |
Modified: 9/24/25