Boost research capacity to cure health challenges

The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the need for better quality research in low and middle-income nations. [iStockphoto]

Low and middle-income countries have an urgent need for effective leadership and researchers to address a high disease burden.

Africa, which accounts for 15 per cent of the world's population, carries 25 per cent of the global disease burden and only produces 2 per cent of the world's research output.

Studies attribute this to sub-optimal research capacity, inadequate funding, skills and infrastructure, as well as weak health research governance and leadership. Several challenges such as funding and publishing structures continue to favour researchers from the North.

Despite more than 80 per cent of poor countries having national research agendas, there is limited empowerment to implement them, with the dominance of global agenda setting at the expense of the national agendas. The result is a significant gap between knowledge generation and policy uptake, leading to research findings that do not translate into impact.

The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the need for better quality research in low and middle-income nations. More than two third of coronavirus clinical trials registered in the first six months, research shows, had shortcomings in design and recruitment.

To address these gaps, we need needs-driven research, greater collaboration and coordination among different funders to align initiatives with local needs. Building networks that link researchers from different fields, languages, regions and practices can also be a powerful tool for addressing the gaps.

Each country should support its own forums to translate evidence-based innovations to large scale, explore opportunities for co-funding, promote and strengthen training of health personnel. This will help local and regional research, and support horizontal scaling linked to the impact of Sustainable Development Goal targets.

Health personnel should be trained to improve each step of the studies as daily tools to improve the quality of care provided to patients. Moreover, leaders must have ambitious plans, but also facilitate every step in the professional improvement of their peers.

The inclusion of women in health research in developing nations remains a challenge. Although significant progress has been made, the gendered burden of care that puts women at a professional disadvantage still exists. Women in health research go through "mother-guilt" where they struggle to balance between motherhood and advancing professional careers. They are forced to restrict travelling, while others completely stop their careers.

To level the playing field and afford more opportunities for women in research, tailor-made opportunities to train women leaders should be created. Scholarship programmes to benefit girls from disadvantaged communities that cannot access health sciences training should be prioritised.

Moreover, affirmative action should be scaled up to influence the societal perspective that women cannot do well in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and to facilitate and recognize women champions who choose to study and prosper in STEM.

-The writers work at Amref Health Africa