A Nigerian scientist, Prof. Iruka Okeke of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, has called for urgent reforms of Africa’s research supply chains to strengthen health research and development across the continent.
Okeke made the call on Friday during a webinar, following a commentary published in Nature Health by African scientific leaders, amid growing disruptions in global health funding that threaten healthcare access and research advancement in Africa.
According to her, persistent procurement and logistics bottlenecks continue to undermine health research and development (R&D) in many African countries.
She said procurement and logistical processes across the continent were often poorly aligned with the realities of R&D, resulting in delays and inefficiencies that slow scientific progress.
“While procurement and logistical processes in many African countries fail to align with the realities of R&D, these same systems worked efficiently during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This demonstrated that the current challenges can be addressed through collaborative and coordinated interventions,” she said.
The commentary was authored by 14 Calestous Juma Science Leadership Fellows from Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe, who outlined practical, Africa-led actions to strengthen health R&D systems.
The lead author of the commentary, Prof. Nicki Tiffin, Deputy Director of the South African National Bioinformatics Institute at the University of the Western Cape, said that although many barriers facing African health researchers were complex, a significant number were operational and solvable.
According to Tiffin, addressing the challenges requires context-specific interventions that align with local needs and realities.
To reduce systemic barriers to R&D in Africa, the Fellows called for urgent action across six priority areas: product development, financial ecosystems, human capital, health data systems, supply chain and logistics, as well as research culture, equity and excellence.
Speaking on product development, Dr Yaw Bediako, Chief Executive Officer of Yemaachi Biotech and Dean of Research and Innovation at Ashesi University in Ghana, said Africa stood at a demographic and scientific inflection point.
“Strategic investment in product development can transform youth potential, biodiversity and scientific ingenuity into innovation, real-world impact and prosperity for future generations,” Bediako said.
The Fellows’ call aligns with a growing movement within the scientific community advocating delivery-focused, locally grounded reforms rather than rhetoric.
Supporting the call, Prof. Tom Kariuki, Chief Executive Officer of the Science for Africa Foundation, said the proposed actions were achievable and required collective commitment.
“This is not a wish list. It is an invitation to act together, using approaches that are already within reach,” Kariuki said.
He added that Africa’s health challenges were urgent, just as the solutions needed to address them were equally pressing.
It was also reported that the Calestous Juma Science Leadership Fellowship, launched in 2021 with support from the Gates Foundation, aims to build scientific leadership and strengthen research and innovation ecosystems across Africa.
