Strengthening health research capacity in sub-Saharan Africa

BACKGROUND: The objective was to guide key stakeholders on future directions of external funding of international postgraduate training (Master's and PhD) of health research students at institutions in sub-Saharan Africa by mapping the numbers and characteristics of students, the location of institutions, and sources of external support. A cross-sectional survey of eligible external funding organizations and programmes was conducted in 2017. Information was gathered from funders' websites or through the assistance of institutional contacts. The information requested included the number of Master's and PhD grantees supported from January 2012 to June 2017, as well as each grantee's institution of study, gender, country of origin and research area. RESULTS: Of 72 organizations contacted, there were 44 responses. Of the 44, 30 funders reported programmes within the inclusion criteria, and 19 funders provided data on relevant programmes. The Wellcome Trust, the International Development Research Centre and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation supported the greatest number of grantees. There was concentrated support for grantees in eastern and southern Africa, countries with developed research capacity, and highly-developed research and training centres. More support was provided for PhD than Master's degree programmes and for research areas more upstream along the research spectrum. Challenges were identified in recognizing relevant funding organizations and obtaining responses. Information was presented inconsistently across organizations, which were often unable to provide relevant and complete data within the survey timeframe. CONCLUSIONS: External funders should collect, analyse and report data at regular intervals on their support for strengthening postgraduate health research capacity in sub-Saharan Africa. Standardization of this process and development of an online database would not only help to avoid overlap between programmes and promote synergy between funders, but also inform dialogue between external funders and key stakeholders on strategic issues. These issues include how external funders can a) optimise their support for research capacity strengthening to maximise the benefits of research for health and development on an equitable basis, and b) optimise the distribution of support for researchers at different career stages and for research on different parts of the research spectrum to maximise the health benefits of research

Capacity building · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Health administration · Health economics · Health services research · Political science · Public health · Quality of Life Research · Regional science · Social policy · Global Health and Surgery · Global Maternal and Child Health · Health and Medical Research Impacts · Medicine · Nursing · Health Policy

• Can a sovereign health research culture bolster Africa‘s involvement in global health?

  Open Access•Cornelius Ewuoso•Global Health Action•2026

  Incluir item

• External funding to strengthen capacity for research in low-income and middle-income countries

  Open Access•Dermot Maher, Abraham Aseffa et al.•BMJ Global Health•2020

  Incluir item

• Quantifying the cost of in-kind contributions to a multidonor-funded health research capacity-building programme

  Open Access•Sharon Fonn, Jia Hu et al.•BMJ Global Health•2020

  Incluir item

• Effective supervision of doctoral students in public and population health in Africa

  Open Access•Jude Igumbor, E N Bosire et al.•Global Public Health•2020

  Incluir item

• Sexual and reproductive health research capacity strengthening programs in low- and middle-income countries

  Open Access•Julie M Buser, Anna Grace Auma et al.•PLOS Global Public Health•2024

  Incluir item

• Strengthening health research capacity for postgraduate trainees

  Open Access•Meshack Nzesei Mutua, Catherine Nakidde et al.•Health Policy and Planning•2025

  Incluir item