Africa is successfully developing its own science initiatives

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In the Nature Careers and Nature Africa podcast “Science in Africa, Lessons from the Past, Hopes for the Future,” the eminent virologist and past President of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Professor Oyewale Tomori, states that in some ways, science in Africa was more securely funded under European colonial rule than it is now. He contends that, apart from Senegal (Institut Pasteur), Kenya (Wellcome Trust), The Gambia (UK Medical Research Council) and efforts in South Africa, the rest of the continent south of the Sahara could essentially be considered as a research “desert”, because of a lack of governmental support for science, since the 1960s. He calls for African governments to reinvest in their scientific future.

This is not an entirely accurate reflection of the situation, as there are now many African-led and African-funded initiatives aimed at improving training and access to funding. For example, the Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF) is active across the continent, providing research training opportunities that enable African research scientists to compete internationally. The European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), a collaboration between the European Union and sub-Saharan African countries that focuses on clinical research on infectious diseases of public health importance in Africa provided €814.30 million for research and development in the period 2016-2021, funding 431 clinical studies, 90 clinical research capacity projects and 201 training fellowships. Most of the research sponsored by EDCTP is directed by African scientists and even when European-led, involvement of African organisations and African researchers is mandated.

The Wellcome Trust has supported and fostered investigator-conducted research in Africa throughout the post-colonial period. Over last the 30 years, it has established several acclaimed research centres, such as the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust (KWTRP) initiative in Kenya, the KWTRP-Mbale Clinical Research Institute in eastern Uganda and the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust programme, focusing on diseases of importance to Africa and with a mission to train the next generation of African scientists.

The Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) was formed through a directive from the member governments of the African Union (AU) to catalyse long-term funding, support and advocacy for research and innovation in Africa. Its mission is to “shift the centre of gravity of African science to Africa”.

AESA is also working with partners such as the Wellcome Trust and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to strengthen scientific capacity and create favourable research environments, not only to halt Africa’s brain-drain, but to reverse it. Time will tell if these efforts succeed. Furthermore, AU strategies through the creation of National Ministries of Science and Technology are also bearing fruit across the continent; this represents a notable paradigm shift from dependency to the promotion of local research efforts.

The impact of joint funding ventures on research training in Africa should not be underestimated. Examples include initiatives by the British Council, the Newton Fund, Irish Embassy, Fulbright Fellowships and German (DAAD) scholarships. ^.International agencies, such as the Norwegian Programme for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Research for Development (NORHED), have instigated similar schemes with significant critical impact even in war-torn countries, like South Sudan. In addition, the WHO/TDR, African CDC, Medical Research Council and NIH have all contributed to capacity-building in Africa.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has fostered research capacity building by African governments. In Uganda, for instance, governmental funding support to the tune of UGX 31 billion (equivalent to USD 8.8 million) has been directed towards grants for national researchers that eventually delivered on Epi-Tents (mobile tent hospitals), rapid diagnostic test kits, COVIDEX (a herbal remedy for COVID-19), disease notification systems, COVID-19 epidemiological studies and a national vaccine development initiative. In Senegal, both rapid diagnostic tests and therapies were advanced with local governmental support. These are examples of African governments enabling African science to respond to local situations by finding local solutions, using locally available resources.

Furthermore, the Malawian Government has announced its Digital Health Strategic Plan 2020-2025, another far-sighted directive launched in the COVID-19 era. This plan allows citizens access to healthcare through smartphone technology. While improving health education of the public, providing a mechanism for medical consultations and telemonitoring in parts of the country that have few or no doctors, this initiative also facilitates research in epidemiology and disease prevention. Similar telemonitoring strategies have been successfully adopted by the Governments of Namibia and South Africa.

Research in various African countries is at different stages of development, but this does not mean that the opportunities today are worse than they were in the 1960s. We urge international grant-giving bodies to acknowledge that the research capacity needed in Africa is better identified by African scientists and governments and not directed to them without consultation. Pan-African initiatives through the AU allow each country to play to its own strengths while recognising that national agendas and long-term development goals vary.

Crucially, future digital infrastructure improvements on the continent will facilitate greater collaboration and deliver more equitable research. African governments should now prioritise those areas identified by their scientific advisors as most needed to allow the continent to compete on an equal footing with the rest of the world, particularly with respect to the roll-out of future digital infra-structure capacity.