Inaugural Meeting of the GLISTEN Network
In March 2025, the GLISTEN Network held its inaugural meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, bringing members together in person for the first time. The gathering marked a pivotal step in shaping the network, as participants outlined key goals, defined priorities, and set tasks to guide GLISTEN’s growth. The meeting not only established a shared vision but also strengthened connections among researchers committed to advancing equitable clinical trials across the Global South.
Important points for discussions centred around establishing GLISTEN’s vision and mission, identifying scientific priorities, setting membership criteria, electing leadership, defining funding priorities and outlining short-, medium- and long-term milestones.
Early sessions of the meeting focussed on defining GLISTEN’s vision: thriving and healthy African communities, unburdened by non-communicable diseases. Guided by this vision, the network’s mission was set into three parts: to conduct disruptive, Africa-centered science that evaluates NCD interventions to inform policy, to develop research capacity for the next generation of African scientists and infrastructure, and to promote partnerships across the Global South. In addition, GLISTEN’s values were organised into three categories, from Core to Aspirational and Permission-to-Play values.
“OUR VISION: Thriving and healthy African communities, unburdened by non-communicable diseases”
