Can Science And R&D Help In Africa's Economic Growth ?

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Africa is currently suffering from a number of challenges which are affecting it's social and economic advancement and one of the prime obstacles in the path of overall development is the prevalence of diseases. As it results in high mortality and morbidity, the burden of disease is choking our economic growth. Hence, it has now become imperative that we significantly contribute in discovering effective solutions for health problems across Africa. Finding and developing new medicines for Africa by African citizens is crucial for national development. 

Why Africa needs science

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Kelly Chibale, founder and director of H3D (Drug Discovery and Development Centre) at the University of Cape Town, recently wrote on the topic

“Long-term sustainable provision of new affordable medicines in Africa can only be ensured through committed investments in research and development (R&D) through African-led local and international public-private partnerships so that risks, and not just benefits, are shared. Africa needs science, not aid. ”

This means Africa should be able to utilise and science and technology for helping it's populace create a better life. Traditionally, the capacity to identify and develop medicines was handicapped by a lack of infrastructure and expertise. There are various reasons for this but the main one include mass exodus and shortage of effective investment in research infrastructure by federal governments across the continent. As a result, scientists find it nearly impossible to apply their knowledge and find out feasible solutions. 

Facing funding challenges

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Even though research funding can be rather daunting, I believe that a shortage of funds is a good enough excuse for not investing as we need to set our priorities clearly. Instead of developing regionally relevant research projects that are aligned globally and making the most of available resources, most scientists in Africa often criticise and blame our government.

Chibale further wrote “Money will follow good infrastructure, a good project, a dedicated team with integrated skills and a good network of partners. Our University of Cape Town Drug Discovery and Development Centre, H3D, has shown that the most effective way of building local capacity is to pursue projects.”

He added “Some of the key ingredients to our success have been a good local (South African) research infrastructure, a supportive research environment within the University of Cape Town, South African government support and a network of (local and international) partnerships.”

Focusing on global development 

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Paucity of continuity is another challenge in supporting sustainable R&D along with long-term funding and a continuous pipeline of new projects. You can still find sufficient gaps in fields of scientific development across Africa. The continent will keep relying on overseas partners unless we take steps to narrow the gaps. Currently, there is a strong need for discovering sustainable solutions which utilise local abilities. The field of drug & medicine development must be considered as a continuum, focusing on a single component is simply not enough. The founder of H3D wrote “H3D has demonstrated that health innovation through drug development is possible in Africa and on the road to being sustainable.” He further commented “R&D creates jobs and infrastructure, attracts foreign investment and reverses the brain drain.”

Chibale believes that R&D can provide us the support and solution we are looking for and contribute in overall development in Africa. He concluded “We have demonstrated that R&D is not a luxury. R&D provides solutions, creates jobs and infrastructure, builds capacity as well as expertise, attracts foreign direct investment, can seed an industry and contributes to reversing the brain drain. At the same time H3D has shown that it is possible to debunk the myth that Africa is not, and cannot be, a source of health innovation, and show that we can discover new medicines.”

What are your thoughts on this topic? Feel free to add to the discussion by commenting below.

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