Africa's science academies should do more to advise their governments on key issues that affect the continent, a conference in Kenya has heard. Delegates at the meeting called for stronger links between the academies and their counterparts in developed nations to help them fulfil this role. The 7-8 November meeting was the first conference of the African Science Academy Development Initiative (ASADI), a ten-year, US$20 million project funded by the US-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.