The African Cancer Leaders Institute: a decade of strategic development of the African next generation leaders in cancer care, research, education and advocacy

Abstract

Leadership and mentorship play an important role in supporting the career development of health professionals. In many African countries, supervision activities focus on technical and operational aspects rather than catalysing career and leadership development. Thus, mentorship and coaching interventions need to be implemented in African healthcare institutions as components of health systems strengthening strategies. Due to its holistic nature, cancer care involves interprofessional collaborations to develop and provide a problem-solving mindset. It is therefore an area that would benefit from leadership and mentorship, mainly in a limited-resources context. The identified benefits from leadership development in cancer care in Africa led to the creation of the African Cancer Leaders Institute (ACLI) of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), consisting of mentors and trainees from Africa and the USA. ACLI trainees are selected through a competitive application process. During the ACLI biennial meetings, coinciding with the AORTIC conference, trainees, including early-stage/mid-career investigators, oncologists, nurses, advocates and other health professionals, meet to learn about best practices in cancer research, grant writing, scientific reporting, mentor relationships, academic pressures and professional-personal life balance. This paper describes the goals of the ACLI, its mission and achievements, the vision behind creating such important programmes and the benefits of its participants in leadership, coaching and mentorship in improving cancer care in Africa.