The Geopolitics of Health Science Research; Comment on "The Roles of Regional Organisations in Strengthening Health Research Systems in Africa: Activities, Gaps, and Future Perspectives"

Abstract

African development is defined by a number of meta-trends, including climate disruption, digitalisation, informalisation, regionalisation and most recently the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper under consideration here is informed primarily by two of these: regionalism and the COVID pandemic. Africa, or at least parts of it, have been severely affected by pandemics in recent decades. At the same time deepening regionalisation allows for more coordinated and effective actions to mitigate their worst effects. However, to date, regional integration efforts have not generally delivered desired results, and in the area of Health Science Research (HSciR) specifically, which is the area of focus for this paper. This important paper considers the nature of current activities in relation to health research by regional organizations on the continent. It provides a baseline study and incipient manifesto for increased effectiveness and greater contribution in the area of health science research on the continent.