Funding and COVID-19 Research Priorities - Are the research needs for Africa being met?

Abstract

Introduction Emerging data from Africa indicates remarkably low numbers of reported COVID-19 deaths despite high levels of disease transmission. However evolution of these trends as the pandemic progresses remains unknown. More certain are the devastating long-term impacts of the pandemic on health and development evident globally. Research tailored to the unique needs of African countries is crucial. UKCDR and GloPID-R have launched a tracker of funded COVID-19 projects mapped to the WHO research priorities and research priorities of Africa and less-resourced countries and published a baseline analysis of a Living Systematic Review (LSR) of these projects. Methods In-depth analyses of the baseline LSR for COVID-19 funded research projects in Africa (as of 15th July 2020) to determine the funding landscape and alignment of the projects to research priorities of relevance to Africa. Results The limited COVID-19 related research across Africa appears to be supported mainly by international funding, especially from Europe, although with notably limited funding from United States-based funders. At the time of this analysis no research projects funded by an African-based funder were identified in the tracker although there are several active funding calls geared at research in Africa and there may be funding data which has not been made publicly available. Many projects mapped to the WHO research priorities and 5 particular gaps in research funding were identified namely: investigating the role of children in COVID-19 transmission; effective modes of community engagement; health systems research; communication of uncertainties surrounding mother-to-child transmission of COVID-19; and identifying ways to promote international cooperation. Capacity strengthening was identified as a dominant theme in funded research project plans. Conclusions We found significantly lower funding investments in COVID-19 research in Africa compared to High-Income Countries, seven months into the pandemic, indicating a paucity of research targeting the research priorities of relevance to Africa.

Pandemic preparedness and responsiveness of research review committees: lessons from review of COVID-19 protocols at KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kenya

“…As shown in the findings, amendments were approved quickly overall. This does suggest health emergency preparedness and responsiveness 10 .…”

“…Based on experiences from previous public health emergencies, it is clear that research review systems are central to expediency of key research questions needed to guide pandemic responses, but also that this expedience is challenged by the practical and ethical considerations that need to be made under pressure. Some of these challenges emanate from novelty of the pathogen, and thus the little data available to inform decisions about balance of risks, harms and burdens against benefits, and difficulties in determining appropriate standard-of-care, fair selection of participants, and the quality and legitimacy of informed consent [8][9][10] .…”

Untitled

“…A review by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) of the first seven months of Covid-19 research funding in Africa found that only 5 per cent of funded projects involved at least one African country, and only about 3 per cent of total research funding was directed to research in Africa (Antonio et al 2020).…”

A living mapping review for COVID-19 funded research projects: 15 month update

“…We have additionally now added a mapping of these same research projects against research priorities identified in the United Nations (UN) Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery 6 . We previously published a more detailed analysis on the African continent specific baseline data from this tracker in collaboration with the African Academy of Sciences 7 .…”