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A new report by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and Team Europe highlights the enormous economic potential of investing in health research and development (R&D) across the continent.
The report, Investing in Health R&D: Africa’s Next Economic Growth Frontier, was launched at an official side event of the World Health Assembly in Geneva.
It argues that stronger investment in health R&D could generate an additional $668 billion in GDP across Africa over the next 20 years.
Despite being home to nearly 19 per cent of the world’s population, Africa currently accounts for only 1.1 per cent of global R&D investment.
According to the report, this gap represents not only a scientific challenge but also a missed economic opportunity. Countries that invest significantly in research and innovation generally experience faster economic growth, attract private investment, create skilled employment opportunities and strengthen industrial competitiveness. Africa’s low investment levels, therefore, continue to limit its economic potential.
Recognising the importance of research-driven development, the African Union in 2007 urged member states to allocate at least 1 per cent of GDP to R&D. Nearly 20 years later, however, the continent’s average spending remains only 0.45 per cent of GDP, well below the global average of 1.7 per cent. Fewer than 10 African countries spend more than 0.6 per cent of GDP on R&D, while South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt together account for almost two-thirds of the continent’s total R&D expenditure.
The assessment notes that Africa’s health research systems remain heavily dependent on foreign donors, making them vulnerable to shifting international priorities.
To examine the benefits of increasing domestic investment, researchers developed a return-on-investment model examining five investment scenarios between 2025 and 2044. The analysis measured impacts on GDP growth, employment, private investment, trade balances and researcher retention.
The findings suggest that achieving the African Union target of investing 1 per cent of gross domestic expenditure on R&D, with 15 per cent directed toward health R&D, could transform African economies.
According to the report, every dollar invested in health R&D could generate $137 in economic value over time. The investment could also create 4.56 million jobs across the continent by 2044.
The analysis presents health R&D as far more than a public health expense. It describes it as a key driver of economic sovereignty, industrial development and regional competitiveness. Several African success stories are highlighted, including Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines’s mRNA programme in South Africa, BioNTech’s vaccine manufacturing partnership in Rwanda, expanding pharmaceutical production in Egypt and Kenya’s growing clinical research ecosystem.
At the same time, the report warns that failure to increase investment could cost Africa more than $1 trillion in GDP over the next 20 years while deepening dependence on imported technologies and external supply chains.
With Africa carrying 25 per cent of the global disease burden but capturing only a small share of health innovation value, the report argues that the continent must shift from importing solutions to developing its own innovation and manufacturing capacity.
The report calls for coordinated action by governments, development finance institutions and international partners to build sustainable African-led innovation and manufacturing ecosystems.
It urges African governments to commit to the African Union goal of investing 1 per cent of GDP in research and development, with 15 per cent allocated to health R&D, while using procurement, incentives and regulatory reform to actively build African health innovation markets.
