“Past the Line”, a podcast giving voice to African women scientists
Madrid, 22 June 2026 — The Women for Africa Foundation today launches Past the Line: a podcast about Africa, women and science, a new conversation space shining a spotlight on the women researchers participating in the Science by Women programme. The first episode is now available on YouTube and Spotify.
With an intimate, in-depth interview format, the podcast features conversations in which the protagonists not only explain their research, but share their career journeys, the challenges they have faced, and their vision of female scientific leadership in Africa.
The podcast is recorded in English, as most of the African scientists the Foundation works with do not speak Spanish.
First episode: food security, gender and opportunity
The episode is hosted by Antonina Cupe, Communications Manager at Fundación Mujeres por África, alongside Dr. Felicia Itunnu Wole Alo, a Nigerian researcher and professor specialising in agricultural extension, rural development and innovation systems for smallholder farmers.
With over fifteen years of experience combining research, university teaching and direct work with rural communities, Dr. Wole Alo builds her career at the intersection of agriculture, public health, sustainability and community wellbeing. She has worked as an Extension Officer in agricultural development programmes and as a trainer for the German international cooperation agency GIZ, and since 2014 has been a professor at the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) in Nigeria, where she designs training programmes and leads research projects aimed at improving the lives of farmers, rural women and young people.
She is currently undertaking a research stay at the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) in Madrid, supported by the Science by Women programme, where she is developing a study focused on improving the health, resilience and wellbeing of rural communities through agriculture. Her research examines the impact of climate change, water access, agricultural digitalisation and resource availability on food security and rural household health. During her stay, she is sharing her experience in Nigeria with ISCIII researchers, exploring ways to strengthen community systems and promote more sustainable agricultural practices.
This first episode covers topics such as work-life balance, pragmatism in African science, leadership, scientific cooperation between Africa and Europe, and the role of the Science by Women programme in advancing women’s scientific leadership across the continent.
A longstanding partnership with the ISCIII
Fundación Mujeres por África has collaborated with the Instituto de Salud Carlos III since the very first edition of the Science by Women programme. In the seventh edition, with the additional support of Fundación CSAI, the ISCIII began offering three fellowships, making it the centre with the highest number of programme beneficiaries hosted to date.
The ISCIII is an internationally renowned research institute whose lines of work include health challenges of priority relevance for the African continent, such as emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and antimicrobial resistance, as well as a long track record in international scientific cooperation.
A programme with over a decade of impact
Since its creation in 2014, the Science by Women programme has enabled 190 scientists from 38 African countries to undertake research stays at some of Spain’s leading scientific institutions, working across fields ranging from mathematics and astronomy to climate change, water, health and agriculture.
Past the Line is born as a space of their own for these women: a place to tell their stories, share their science, and offer a vision of Africa built from within.
Upcoming episodes will continue to give voice to programme beneficiaries, exploring themes such as gender and science, neglected tropical diseases, work-life balance, knowledge transfer and development, scientific cooperation, and the importance of inclusion and diversity in science.
Past the Line is now available on YouTube and Spotify.