In 2021 only 1.1 percent of genomic data being used for genome-wide association studies came from people of African descent.
This current lack of genomic diversity has led to major scientific opportunities being missed as Africans have the most diverse genomes as modern humans originated in Africa and then spread across the globe over the past 80,000 years.
A team of Nigerian scientists, in conjunction with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, established the Noncommunicable Diseases Genetic Heritage Study consortium in February 2020.
The aim of consortium is to produce a comprehensive catalogue of human genetic variation in Nigeria.
Dr Segun Fatumo, genetic epidemiologist and one of the leaders of the consortium, explains what they are doing and why to The Conversation Africa.