ACoMVeC’s first annual meeting took place on Saturday, September 16, 2023, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, specifically at Harmony Hotel.
The purpose of this meeting was to review the project objectives, evaluate the progress made so far, including the PhD training and engagement with stakeholders, particularly the NMCP (National Malaria Control Program), and discuss strategies for enhancing this engagement.
The session commenced at 9:30 am with a total of 30 participants, including 15 Ph.D. students, 3 Postdocs, 2 modelers (online), 7 principal investigators (PIs), 1 Academic Director, and 2 project managers. Mr. Ivan Misonge, the project manager, began by presenting the session’s agenda. Prof. Charles from CRID Cameroon then delivered a warm welcome message, expressing his wishes for all participants to have an excellent time in Addis Ababa. He encouraged everyone to take advantage of the opportunity to engage, learn from each other, and gain insights into the developments taking place in other countries. Prof. Charles also provided a reminder of the project’s objectives and activities, extending a special welcome to Dr Luther Martain Mann, a new postdoc recruit in ACoMVeC.
Following this, each Co-PI from the various partner institutes presented an overview of the project’s implementation in their respective countries. Subsequently, representatives from each country (total 8) shared the students’ perspectives on the project.
The discussion revolved around various topics, including university registration, procurement of necessary equipment (laptops and video projectors), project progress, challenges encountered, and upcoming tasks. The modelers, Prof. Thomas Churcher and Prof. Ramses Djidjou-Demasse, provided an overview of student supervision. The Academic Director, Prof. Njiokou Flobert, presented an overview of student progress evaluation. Mr. Ivan presented the general project overview and shared that the progress achieved in the first phase of the project was 20%. Prof. Charles delivered the closing remarks at 5 pm. Following that, a special meetup, the Board management meeting, took place.
