1. Africa Centre of Excellence in Public Health and Herbal Medicine (ACEPHEM)

2. Background
Malawi Government joined the World Bank initiative to establish Eastern & Southern Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence Project (ACE II)
There are 24 ACE with each getting a funding of up to US$6 million over a period of five years
The ACE project is aimed at strengthening higher education institutions to deliver quality postgraduate education

3. Why Public Health & Herbal Medicine
Africa is experiencing a double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases
Injuries, Urban, Adolescence
Herbal medicines are used as primary or complementary health care
Herbs are a source of conventional medicine

4. Centre Purposes
Enhancing PG training in Public Health/ or Herbal Medicine
We have over 1357 undergraduate & 187 graduate students, 35 of which are doctoral students

5. Centre Purposes
Networking

6. Centre Purposes
Internationalization

7. Centre Purposes
Resource mobilization

8. Centre Purposes
Commercialization of products

9. Centre Leadership and Governance
Director
Two Deputy Directors
International Advisory Board
Chaired by Principal
International and regional researchers
Industry (i.e. PIL, Macra)
Diaspora Malawians
Steering Committee
- Deans and Heads

10. Centre Activities Facilitate postgraduate training
Curriculum development
Catalytic potential for researchers
Public Health and Herbal Medicine Agenda
Short-course trainings/workshops

11. Centre Activities Support publications in peer-reviewed journals
Implement faculty and students exchange programme
Student’s internships
Network with traditional healers and industry to commercialize products with the potential for the market

12. Areas of focus
Public Health
Injuries
Adolescent health
Urban Heath

13. Areas of focus Herbal Medicine Drug discovery Inventory creation
Toxicity
Drug-drug interactions
Efficacy

14. Intended Outcomes
To train at least 70 MSc/Mphil/Mmed students in Public Health/Herbal Medicine
26 PhD students in Public Health/Herbal Medicine
630 participants in short courses

15. National Partnerships
MZUNI-Mzuzu University
MUST- Malawi University of Science and Technology
FRIM –Forest Research Institute of Malawi
NBG- National Herbarium and Botanical Gardens
MBS- Malawi Bureau of Standards
MoH- Ministry of Health
NTHUO- National Traditional Healers Umbrella Organization

16. International Partners
Mbarara University of Science and Technology- Uganda
Addis Ababa University- Ethiopia
Copper Belt University- Zambia
African Population Research Center (APHRC)
Stellenbosch University – South Africa
Strathclyde University-UK
Andrews University-United States
Cheng Foundation

17. Acknowledgements Ministry of Education Science and Technology
Ministry of Health
Vice Chancellor UNIMA
World Bank – Malawi
National Assembly