Report: African needs 1 million research scientists to drive growth

Panel Discussions at the 20^th-anniversary celebrations of the African Population and Health Research Center at Nairobi Kitusuru Offices on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. [Samson Wire, Standard].

African universities need to produce at least 1,000,000 research scientists to spur economic and social development in the next ten years.

A report by World Bank indicates that the lack of inadequate African research experts has exacerbated the developmental challenges in the continent including the lack of employment opportunities for the exploding youth population, climate change, diseases, food insecurity and political instability.

According to the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), Sub-Saharan Africa contributes just one per cent of global scientific products such as patents, research papers, and peer-reviewed articles.

"Despite Africa being a significant source of research, its global contribution is still low. This is because of the low investment in research, which results in Africa's limited representation in the global knowledge economy," said Dr Catherine Kyobutungi, executive director, APHRC.

Speaking during a forum hosted by APHRC in commemoration of its 20th Anniversary, Kyobutungi challenged African countries to invest more in scientific research in advancing knowledge towards the achievement of the continent's economic and social development.

"We are telling our political leaders that Africa will not achieve its dream of economic and social empowerment by continuing to rely on international technical expertise," noted Kyobutungi.

She added: "We need to develop our own scientists from home-grown talent who will develop evidence based local solutions that can cascade to the local level and change people's lives."

In an effort to rebuild and strengthen the capacity of African universities to produce skilled researchers and scholars, the centre's initiatives have produced over 185 PhDs and 15 Masters graduates.

Kyobutungi said the expertise gap presents an opportunity for Africa to make a significant leap in its social and economic development.

"Investments in research and development can create millions of jobs, generate new knowledge for decision making, drive monetization of innovations, and elevate the place of African scientists and institutions in the global marketplace of ideas and influence," she stated.