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Harnessing the power of virtual reality technology to enhance public health genomics skills in Africa

Africa’s public health genomics capacity has expanded substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic; however, workforce development is currently constrained by access, cost and sustainability. In this Perspective, the authors present virtual reality as a strategic tool for sustainable and equitable capacity building in genomics.

Harris Onywera
Collins Kipngetich Tanui
Sofonias K. Tessema
ReviewsOpen Access02 Feb 2026
Nature Communications

P: 1-7
Understanding COVID-19 in Africa

In this Comment article, Sofonias Tessema and John Nkengasong provide an overview of the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa and the challenges posed by the triple burden of emerging, endemic and non-communicable diseases.

Sofonias K. Tessema
John N. Nkengasong
Comments & Opinion24 Jun 2021
Nature Reviews Immunology

Volume: 21, P: 469-470
The pandemic agreement: an African perspective

Nicaise Ndembi
Gerald Mboowa
Jean Kaseya
Correspondence16 Jul 2024
Nature

Volume: 631, P: 505
Addressing the Recurrent and Protracted Cholera Outbreaks in Africa: Challenges and the Way Forward

Cholera remains a global health threat across the African continent. Here, the authors discuss the current issues relating to the control of the disease, and make recommendations for its management across Africa.

Nebiyu Dereje
Merawi Aragaw
Jean Kaseya
Comments & OpinionOpen Access06 Nov 2025
Nature Communications

Volume: 16, P: 1-4
Genomics reveals zoonotic and sustained human mpox spread in West Africa

Monkeypox virus genomic data from Nigeria and Cameroon, sampled between 2018 and 2023, indicate that the virus spread through repeated zoonoses in Cameroon, whereas in Nigeria, it spread mainly through human–human transmission, predominantly originating in Rivers State.

Edyth Parker
Ifeanyi F. Omah
Christian T. Happi
ResearchOpen Access19 May 2025
Nature

Volume: 643, P: 1343-1351
How to sustain a public-health genomics and bioinformatics workforce in Africa

African countries have made progress in expanding their genomics and bioinformatics workforces for public health, yet several barriers pose risks to workforce retention and long-term sustainability.

Harris Onywera
Nicola Mulder
Sofonias K. Tessema
Comments & Opinion29 May 2025
Nature Medicine

Volume: 31, P: 2480-2484
An updated framework for SARS-CoV-2 variants reflects the unpredictability of viral evolution

The World Health Organization framework for tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants has been updated to reflect the continued evolution of the virus; this framework could be adapted for other emerging respiratory diseases with epidemic and pandemic potential.

Lorenzo Subissi
James Richard Otieno
Maria D. Van Kerkhove
Comments & Opinion08 May 2024
Nature Medicine

Volume: 30, P: 2400-2403
Urgent action is needed to confront artemisinin partial resistance in African malaria parasites

Deus S. Ishengoma
Roly Gosling
Abdoulaye A. Djimde
Correspondence25 Apr 2024
Nature Medicine

Volume: 30, P: 1807-1808
Genomic evidence of varicella-zoster virus among Mpox-suspected cases in Ethiopia during the 2022 Mpox multi-country outbreak

Adamu Tayachew
Nigatu Kebede
Mesfin Wossen
ResearchOpen Access23 Nov 2025
Scientific Reports

Volume: 16, P: 1-13
First imported cases of MPXV Clade Ib from Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Mukadi-Bamuleka et al., report the first introduction of MPXV Clade Ib into Goma, DRC, revealing non-sexual human-to-human transmission chains involving children in an internally displaced persons’ camp. These findings underscore the urgent need to expand surveillance and public health messaging beyond adult sexual networks to include paediatric and displaced populations.

Daniel Mukadi-Bamuleka
Eddy Kinganda-Lusamaki
Steve Ahuka-Mundeke
ResearchOpen Access15 Nov 2025
Communications Medicine

Volume: 5, P: 1-9
Unlocking the power of molecular and genomics tools to enhance cholera surveillance in Africa

Collins Kipngetich Tanui
Sofonias Kifle Tessema
Jean Kaseya
Correspondence10 Aug 2023
Nature Medicine

Volume: 29, P: 2387-2388
An early warning system for emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants

Global sequencing and surveillance capacity for SARS-CoV-2 must be strengthened and combined with multidisciplinary studies of infectivity, virulence and immune escape, in order to track the unpredictable evolution of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Lorenzo Subissi
Anne von Gottberg
Anurag Agrawal
Comments & Opinion30 May 2022
Nature Medicine

Volume: 28, P: 1110-1115
A pan-African pathogen genomics data sharing platform to support disease outbreaks

High-income countries have a wealth of genomics expertise that can be rapidly activated to deal with disease threats. African countries should invest in a federated data-management system for genomics epidemiology to deal with such threats better.

Alan Christoffels
Gerald Mboowa
Yenew Kebede Tebeje
Comments & Opinion09 May 2023
Nature Medicine

Volume: 29, P: 1052-1055
Genomic and transmission dynamics of the 2024 Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda

Genomic analyses from the ongoing outbreak of Marburg virus disease in Rwanda point to a single zoonotic origin for the outbreak.

Yvan Butera
Leon Mutesa
Claude Mambo Muvunyi
ResearchOpen Access16 Dec 2024
Nature Medicine

Volume: 31, P: 422-426
Spatial and genetic clustering of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections in a low-transmission area of Ethiopia

Sofonias K. Tessema
Mulualem Belachew
Fitsum G. Tadesse
ResearchOpen Access17 Nov 2020
Scientific Reports

Volume: 10, P: 1-10
Targeted and whole-genome sequencing reveal a north-south divide in P. falciparum drug resistance markers and genetic structure in Mozambique

A comprehensive genomics approach reveals the spatial and temporal distribution of antimalarial drug resistance markers and geographic structure of P. falciparum parasites collected in seven provinces of Mozambique in 2015 and 2018.

Clemente da Silva
Simone Boene
Alfredo Mayor
ResearchOpen Access08 Jun 2023
Communications Biology

Volume: 6, P: 1-11

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Harnessing the power of virtual reality technology to enhance public health genomics skills in Africa

Understanding COVID-19 in Africa

The pandemic agreement: an African perspective

Addressing the Recurrent and Protracted Cholera Outbreaks in Africa: Challenges and the Way Forward

Genomics reveals zoonotic and sustained human mpox spread in West Africa

How to sustain a public-health genomics and bioinformatics workforce in Africa

An updated framework for SARS-CoV-2 variants reflects the unpredictability of viral evolution

Urgent action is needed to confront artemisinin partial resistance in African malaria parasites

Genomic evidence of varicella-zoster virus among Mpox-suspected cases in Ethiopia during the 2022 Mpox multi-country outbreak

First imported cases of MPXV Clade Ib from Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Unlocking the power of molecular and genomics tools to enhance cholera surveillance in Africa

An early warning system for emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants

A pan-African pathogen genomics data sharing platform to support disease outbreaks

Genomic and transmission dynamics of the 2024 Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda

Spatial and genetic clustering of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections in a low-transmission area of Ethiopia

Targeted and whole-genome sequencing reveal a north-south divide in P. falciparum drug resistance markers and genetic structure in Mozambique

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