FUOYE Don, Dr. Sunday Adedini, and 12 Others Awarded $780,000 Research Grants
Dr. Sunday Adedini, an Associate Professor at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), has been awarded a prestigious Social Sciences and Humanities postdoctoral fellowship valued at $780,000 by the Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation), with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Chris Oyeoku Okafor 
In a remarkable achievement for Nigerian academia, Dr. Sunday Adedini, an Associate Professor at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), has been awarded one of this year's prestigious Social Sciences and Humanities postdoctoral fellowships. This fellowship, valued at $780,000, was granted by the Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation), with funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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Dr. Adedini, known for his expertise in Health Demography, will lead pioneering research efforts focusing on community and facility-based surveillance of child mortality and morbidity in selected communities across Nigeria. His research aims to investigate the underlying causes of under-five deaths, a critical area for improving child health outcomes in the country.
The fellowship program, facilitated by the SFA Foundation's Preparing Outstanding Social Sciences Investigators to Benefit Lives and Environments in Africa Programmes (POSSIBLE-Africa) initiative, seeks to empower African scholars to produce evidence that informs sustainable development on the continent.
Dr. Adedini's counterparts in this cohort of scholars include Hauwa Mohammed Sani from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and Cynthia Nwobodo from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, among others. Each scholar will receive funding of up to USD 65,000 to support their research endeavors over the course of their fellowship.
The initiative, designed as a two-year program, not only provides financial support but also offers capacity-building opportunities to cultivate scholars into globally competitive social sciences and humanities research leaders. It aims to drive transformative change in social sciences and humanities capacity development across Africa.
As part of their fellowship, scholars will undergo 12 weeks of formal research capacity development, which includes virtual training, mentoring, and peer mentoring. Additionally, they will attend a 2-week in-person Summer School facilitated by the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC), where they will receive training on Research Design, Planning, and Scientific Center and Publishing.
Dr. Adedini, who previously served as a Lecturer/Researcher at Obafemi Awolowo University and as a Visiting Researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, brings extensive experience and expertise to the fellowship. He holds a Ph.D. in Demography and Population Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand and has received numerous academic laurels and fellowships throughout his career.
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With a research focus on child health, sexual and reproductive health, and urban development, Dr. Adedini has published over 100 scholarly articles in reputed journals. He is credited with establishing the first urban-based Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) site in South Africa and has a track record of excellence in mortality surveillance using population health perspectives.
The fellowship marks a significant milestone for Dr. Adedini and his fellow scholars, highlighting the growing recognition of Nigerian researchers on the global stage and the immense potential for impactful research in Africa's social sciences and humanities domains.
