[ACCRA] A Nigerian scientist based in
Ghana is one of four researchers from
developing countries who received US
$100,000 each to pursue their dream
ideas for solving global health problems.
Olufunke Cofie, a soil scientist at the
Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research's Challenge
Program on Water and Food will develop
fertiliser pellets from treated human
waste to boost agricultural productivity
and improve sanitation.
She is one of the latest 88 winners in the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Grand
Challenges in Global Health programme,
funded through the Grand Challenges
Explorations (GCE) initiative, which
include scientists from Ecuador, Ghana,
Kenya and the Philippines.
"Recycling readily available excrement
has the potential to both reduce the
environmental pollution burden and
prolong the lifespan of [waste]
treatment plants, while also significantly
improving soil productivity," Cofie told
SciDev.Net.
Cofie will explore using faecal sludge as
a source of organic matter and nutrients.
She will also address the negative
perception in some communities of using
human excrement in agriculture.
Since 2000, Cofie has been leading
collaborative projects on turning faecal
sludge and urban waste into something
useful.
"The award is encouraging in the sense
that we can go one step further in the
research process [to create pellets]. It is
not an end itself but we can surely add
value to what we have been doing," she
said.
Since its launch in 2008, the GCE
initiative has awarded grants of US
$100,000 to nearly 500 researchers from
more than 40 countries. Successful
projects can apply for a grant of up to US
$1 million.
"We believe that truly transformative
technologies are needed to overcome
the most persistent health and
development challenges," said Chris
Wilson, director of the Gates
Foundation's Global Health Discovery
programme.
"If ideas like the one presented by
Olufunke Cofie can show proof of
concept in making sanitation services
truly safe and sustainable, the
implication is that they can help reduce
the burden of diarrhoeal disease by 20–
40 per cent, and save the lives of
millions of children," he told SciDev.Net.
The initiative has specifically targeted
developing countries, he said.
Four scientists from developing countries
are among the 88 winners, along with
one from Brazil, one from India and two
from China.