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SUSAN

SUSAN

About the Network

The (Sub-Sahara African Network) SUSAN is a network of national biometric groups of the Sub-Saharan Africa countries who are members of the International Biometric Society. The network promotes the advancement of life sciences through development, application and dissemination of effective mathematical and statistical methods to its members and collaborating partners. This includes applications in agriculture, medical and health research, infectious diseases, environment and ecology, climate, and other applied sciences such as the areas of statistical genetics and bioinformatics.

Participating IBS Regions (as of September, 2023)

  • Botswana
  • Cameroon (new as of 2023)
  • Ethiopia
  • Kenya
  • Malawi
  • Nigeria
  • South Africa
  • Tanzania
  • Uganda
  • Zimbabwe


Governance / Committee Structure

The following individuals were named to the SUSAN Executive in 2023:

Coordinator: Prof. Alhassan Abukari (Ghana)

Secretary: Prof. Girma Taye Aweke (Ethiopia)

Treasurer: Dr. Halima Twabi (Malawi) 

Coordinator, SUSAN Students Forum: Brenda Yankam (Cameroon)

Mentor-Mentee Coordinator: Nohlalnla Zuma (South Africa) 

Past / Future Planned Network Activities

Due to the uncertainty on global and regional travel precautions in reference to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 17th Sub-Saharan Africa network (SUSAN) conference of the International Biometrics Society was hosted virtually on September 5-9, 2021. The conference was hosted by the Kenya region of the International Biometrics Society. 

The SUSAN IBS student forum hosted a talk by Prof Jose Pinheiro entitled “Notes on Career development and the International Biometrics” on January 19, 2023.

The SUSAN IBS mentor-mentee program hosted a talk by Prof Geert Molenburghs entitled “The Applied biostatistical scientist in a high-profile professional and societal environment” on February 1, 2023.

The IBS Ghana region of the Sub-Sahara African Network (SUSAN) of the International Biometric Society hosted the 18th Biennial IBS-SUSAN Conference (in-person) on 10th - 15th September 2023 at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. For more details visit https://susan2023.ibsghana.org/. The 18th biennial conference was a great success, with 16 countries in the Sub-Sharan Africa region participating. 

The 2025 SUSAN conference will be held in Addis Ababa, which is our next decided venue. The Ethiopian Region has begun discussions on how to go about hosting SUSAN 2025.

Student / Young Statistician Activities

Young statisticians are welcome at every SUSAN event. No specific activities targeting young statisticians have been announced at this time. For more information on the Network, contact the International Biometric Office.

IBS Regions


IBS Networks