Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) is the land mass extending below the Sahara desert excluding countries in the North of Africa and Sudan, according to the World Bank. There are about 52 countries with a population of about 874 million. The history of teaching of physiology in many medical schools is fairly recent, the earliest possibly in the University of Cape Town (Republic of South Africa – RSA)in 1912, Pretoria (RSA) in 1943, Makerere (Uganda) in 1924, University College Ibadan,(Nigeria) in 1948, and Zimbabwe in 1952. There are about 74 Medical Schools in SSA (1), 26 in Nigeria and 8 in the Republic of South Africa. Teaching of physiology has traditionally been domiciled in Medical schools with majority using the traditional face-to-face method due largely to limited resources. One notable exception is the republic of South Africa, which we call ‘European country located in Africa’. Teaching largely utilizes the white board and overhead/multimedia projectors. Many schools are beginning to incorporate some ICT components for teaching. However, we can claim some achievements as several physiologists have been trained in SSA. In addition, we have contributed to the training of several doctors as well as record modest achievements in training of PhDs. South Africa however has staff that is world class. Most universities in sub Saharan Africa depend virtually on government for funding. It is only recently that some universities started charging high tuition fees (2). Other issues related to teaching challenges include: – Limited number of PhD holders and low wages. – Low lecturer : student ratio – Outdated textbooks – Limited ICT/ Internet facilities – Outdated curricula As for Research, with the exception of South Africa, the research output from the region is very low. It is estimated that SSA contributes less than 0.9% to published work with over 50% from South Africa (3). An analysis of university rankings bears this out as the highest ranked university from SSA is University of Cape Town at 133 (4). Only 5 African universities are in the world’s top 1,000. The obvious reason is poor funding and thus less resource for acquiring top equipment for research. This is reflected in the low quality of articles in some regional journals that publish papers with little or no cellular or sub-cellular mechanisms. On the other hand publications from South Africa are top class. However, efforts are being made to play ‘catch up’. For example, our laboratory has studied the effects of high salt diet on vascular mechanisms, using rat aortic rings. Our results were confirmed using the pressurized mesenteric artery preparation (5) during the author’s tenure as British Heart Foundation Fellow at Leeds University. However, on return to Nigeria, such facility was not available but we are still publishing using the ring preparation (6). Subsequent studies have been on investigating the role of the Epithelial Sodium Channel (ENaC) in hypertensive Nigerians (Dr Elias, PhD thesis, Lagos, 2012) while collaborating with foreign laboratories for DNA sequencing and identification of genetic polymorphisms. We hope that this foray will open new grounds and attract more graduate students to genetic and molecular aspects of physiology. Other challenges relating to research include: – Heavy teaching load. – Low PhD production in addition to in-breeding and inadequate mentoring – Outdated equipment and little availability of reagents and consumables – Lack of or limited access to journals – Brain drain from SSA (3). This brings up the point of how we in SSA (except perhaps South Africa) can leverage on the superb research facilities in the developed countries. It will also involve the exposure of our staff to research at cellular and sub-cellular levels including cell signaling etc, in line with current trends. Thus, an appeal is being made to the IUPS to come to the aid of SSA. As the way forward, some suggestions are; – Provision of sabbaticals for nationals of SSA to laboratories in the developed countries. – Provision of laboratory space for research training and skills acquisition by our younger colleagues to increase their research capabilities – A mechanism for equipment transfer through donation of ‘surplus to requirement’ but useful equipment to universities in SSA. For example, establishing a ‘ warehouse’ system in the IUPS etc for donation of equipment and transfer of such to interested laboratories in SSA. The thematic of these and other suggestions is assistance to SSA physiologists to boost teaching and research capabilities and thereby improve on the present dismal situation. This is to arrest the brain drain and make competent and willing researchers to remain in their country and contribute meaningfully to global scientific enterprise.