MONROVIA – A Liberian scientist has taken a seat at the table where West Africa plans its defense against a deadly virus. Dr. Dougbeh Christopher Nyan is in Abuja for a regional workshop on Lassa fever. The gathering aims to turn scattered research into published, peer-reviewed science. Lassa remains endemic across the region, including in Liberia, with no approved vaccine. That gap lends the work urgency far beyond the conference room. Nyan is helping fellow experts document surveillance and outbreak-detection findings for the wider world. He has also pressed governments to back home-grown vaccine and diagnostics research. As THE ANALYST reports, the effort reflects a broader push for African science to answer distinctly African health threats.
Dr. Dougbeh Christopher Nyan, a biomedical scientist and inventor, is in Abuja, Nigeria, this week for a special scientific workshop on Lassa fever. The meeting follows the ECOWAS-WAHO International Conference on Lassa Fever held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in September 2025.
The workshop is convened by the West African Health Organisation (WAHO), the health agency of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It gathers selected regional experts to review scientific evidence generated at the Abidjan conference.
From Evidence To Journals
Participants are analyzing laboratory, surveillance, and policy material, along with operational experience, that has been reduced into scientific manuscripts. Dr. Nyan and other experts have been tasked with mentoring authors toward peer-reviewed publication.
The aim, according to ECOWAS-WAHO, is to review, harmonize, and finalize the conference supplement manuscripts. Organizers said the process includes addressing editorial comments and mapping a route to journal submission.
Writing And Ethics
During the workshop, Dr. Nyan delivered a presentation on the techniques of scientific writing. It followed a session on established guidelines, standards, and publication ethics in public-health research.
The organizers said documenting outbreak detection and coordinated surveillance is essential for the region. They said peer-reviewed dissemination would help translate the conference’s work into lasting scientific value.
A Persistent Threat
Lassa is a haemorrhagic fever virus endemic in several West African countries, including Liberia, Nigeria, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. It is spread by certain rodents, and there is no approved vaccine for the infection.
Several candidate products are in clinical trials as scientists race to develop one. The persistence of the virus underscores the urgency of the regional research effort.
Backing African Science
Dr. Nyan earlier took part in the launch of the 2025 ECOWAS-WAHO Lassa Fever International Conference report. He has advocated stronger support for the region’s own scientists.
He urged national governments to fund research and development by home-grown scientists in vaccines and diagnostics. He cited threats such as Lassa fever, Mpox, Ebola, and malaria as priorities for local innovation.
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