By KT Reporter
Experts have cautioned that much of Uganda’s 300 billion Shillings annual investment in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) is yielding little impact, with research failing to deliver quick or meaningful returns on investment.
Dr Bruce Kirenga, Principal of the College of Health Sciences at Makerere University, one of the largest beneficiaries of health research funding, says many researchers are focusing on trivial, descriptive studies that neither lead to commercialization nor address urgent health needs.
Speaking ahead of the inaugural Africa Health Summit scheduled for Friday, Kirenga noted that with foreign funding declining, African governments must heed the African Union’s recommendation to allocate 1 per cent of GDP to research.
He added that there is growing interest in exploring alternative funding models, including partnerships where local pharmaceutical companies invest in research that directly improves public health outcomes.
Infectious Diseases Research Specialist Andrew Nsawotebba echoed these concerns, urging African countries to build local solutions as disease outbreaks rise. In the last two years alone, the continent has recorded a 41 per cent increase in outbreaks, yet 95 per cent of treatment products remain imported.
He added that the sudden freeze of U.S. donor funding in January, which disrupted key health services in Uganda, should have been a wake-up call for governments to reduce reliance on donor cycles.
Although the post-COVID-19 period saw a push to expand local pharmaceutical manufacturing, experts say Africa still depends heavily on foreign support. The African Union has set an ambitious target for the continent to produce 60 per cent of its vaccines by 2040.
However, Kirenga warns that emerging pharmaceutical firms continue to rely overwhelmingly on technology transfer, a model he believes is unsustainable in the long run.
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