On March 31, 2026, the Museum of Black Civilizations will host the ceremony for the first Amadou Mahtar Mbow Prize for Indigenous Knowledge, an award that aims to place traditional medicine and scientific excellence at the heart of global health debates. The event will be held under the patronage of the Head of State.

A foundation dedicated to African knowledge

Established in March 2021 during the centenary of its illustrious patron, the Amadou Mahtar Mbow Foundation (FAMM) was recognized as a public interest organization in September 2024. Its mission is to promote and enhance indigenous knowledge, particularly therapeutic knowledge, inherited from African communities and intimately linked to their natural and cultural environment. The objective is clear: to transform these practices into drivers of modern development.

The Amadou Mahtar Mbow Prize is part of the "One Health" approach, which emphasizes the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health. The call for applications, launched in early 2026, attracted more than twenty submissions covering some fifteen pathologies. The proposals range from herbal medicine to fracture reduction techniques, including traditional psychotherapy.

Two categories have been established:

- The award, intended for completed work that has produced conclusive results (theses, processes or exploitable products).

- Encouragement, to support ongoing research with promising prospects.

By distinguishing between researchers and practitioners, the FAMM aims to strengthen scientific production around indigenous knowledge and consolidate African health sovereignty. The ceremony will be an opportunity to highlight these "champions of innovation" who, in the spirit of Professor Amadou Mahtar Mbow, are working towards individual and collective health rooted in African realities.