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Science in Africa: The view from the front line

Nature volume 474, pages 556–559 (2011)Cite this article

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Africa's nations are achieving some success in building their science capacity, but the foundations remain unsteady.

The forecast for science in Africa has brightened over the past decade. After enduring civil wars and economic crises, many countries have entered a period of rapid growth and leaders are starting to see science and technology as the keys to progress. In 2006, members of the African Union endorsed a target for each nation to spend 1% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on research and development (R&D). And at a summit the following year, heads of state in Africa declared 2007 the year for scientific innovation.

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Authors
  1. Vivienne Irikefe
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  2. Gayathri Vaidyanathan
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  3. Linda Nordling
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  4. Aimable Twahirwa
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  5. Esther Nakkazi
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  6. Richard Monastersky
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Additional information

Vivienne Irikefe is a journalist in Lagos, Nigeria. Gayathri Vaidyanathan is an International Development Research Center fellow at Nature and covered Kenya. Linda Nordling, a freelance writer in Cape Town, South Africa, wrote about Senegal and Tanzania. Aimable Twahirwa is a journalist in Kigali, Rwanda. Esther Nakkazi is a journalist in Kampala, Uganda. Richard Monastersky is a features editor with Nature in Washington DC.

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Africa Innovation Outlook 2010

UNESCO Science Report 2010

Thompson Reuters Global Research Report: Africa

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Irikefe, V., Vaidyanathan, G., Nordling, L. et al. Science in Africa: The view from the front line. Nature 474, 556–559 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/474556a

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