Africa

The HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Health Science of Implementation Conference, or VISTA, will take place from September 21-23, 2026, in Cape Town, South Africa. VISTA is organized by researchers from Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Cape Town.

WashU’s Helina Woldekiros is leading the first archaeological excavations of sites associated with the ancient Kaffa kingdom in highland Ethiopia. Her new research considers what ancient food webs teach us about the future of agriculture and the origins of coffee.

Ampersand Programs immediately immerse first-year students in the very best of WashU, blending classroom study with experiential learning while fostering tight-knit cohorts and close connections with faculty.

The Endangered Primate Information Collaboration (EPIC) will combine on-the-ground expertise and high-tech monitoring to observe and protect populations of diademed sifakas (“dancing lemurs”) in Madagascar as well as western lowland gorillas and chimpanzees across Africa’s Congo Basin.

WashU Public Health PhD student Anita Kabarambi has received a Margaret McNamara Education Grant to study how to implement cervical cancer prevention into HIV care in Uganda.

Natalie Mueller, ​an assistant professor of archaeology specializing in the historical ecology of North America and eastern Africa and the origins of agriculture, is one of two recipients of the Cromwell Harbor Foundation’s inaugural Chrysalis Prize, which recognizes promising early-career scholars with $250,000 in unrestricted support, mentorship, and entry into a growing cohort of multidisciplinary thinkers.

Wilmetta Toliver-Diallo, a lover of movies and a student of Africa, had a vision to introduce St. Louis audiences to films from Africa. The goal, she said, was to showcase the hidden talents of African filmmakers and the diversity of the continent’s nations and cultures. 

Three WashU researchers studying human-wildlife interaction in the forests of Madagascar have approached their research in a unique way – one that recognizes that protecting wildlife requires protecting people.

Sifting through the seemingly endless sands of Ethiopia’s Afar Rift, researchers have uncovered telling remnants of a long-lost human ancestor.

Growing up in a world saturated by fear of HIV and AIDS, WashU Public Health’s Massy Mutumba developed a commitment to help her country fight the HIV epidemic.