Health experts have pointed out the need to invest in research work, as part of the resources needed to find solutions to persistent health challenges in East African countries.
The call was announced on Tuesday, September 26, ahead of the 9th East African Health and Scientific Conference (EAHSC) bringing together researchers to present and discuss their work, as well as exchange information between health practitioners, slated from September 27 to 29 at Kigali Convention Centre.
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Held under the theme "Challenges and Strategies to preparedness and Response to Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases: Lessons learnt from the COVID- 19 pandemic’’, the summit seeks to discuss innovative approaches and interventions to strengthen health systems, leadership and governance for management of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
It also includes the success, opportunities, and challenges in the management of Covid-19 and Ebola, addressing social, economic, and political impacts caused by Covid-19 pandemic, and harnessing digital technologies for preparedness and response to communicable and non-communicable diseases.
It will also discuss the manufacturing and regulation of medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, and other health technologies in the context of epidemics and pandemics, as well as traditional and herbal medicines use, and practices and beliefs during Covid-19 pandemic.
When it comes to research capacity in the region, Dr Novat Twungubumwe, Executive Secretary, East African Health Research Commission (EAHRC), said an assessment carried out in EAC countries revealed that 94 per cent of funding for research work is from external entities.
"We have to find innovative ways to increase our income and fund our own research, it is an important issue of resource,” he noted.
Besides that, Twungubumwe pointed out that the region faces gaps in research capacity including infrastructure and human resources. For instance, he mentioned that there are still few research institutions in partner states and at different levels of capacity.
However, he said there is a will to improve human resource capacity whereby the inter-university council for East Africa provides scholarship programmes so as to improve the quality of researchers in the region.
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Through EAHRC, Zachee Iyakaremye, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, said that currently, there is an initiative among partner states to buy the needed medicines through a common channel to address the cost and logistic issue that comes with making such orders as a single country.
He mentioned that EAC states also partner to support information and good practice exchange, as well as the testing of some medicines.
Health experts emphasise that research development is crucial to building a robust healthcare ecosystem, especially with the gap in Africa as unveiled by the pandemic.
It is crucial for investment in this domain at a time when Africa is fighting global inequalities when it comes to pharmaceuticals and having a voice in global healthcare decision-making, as well as responding to emergencies.
Rwanda is championing this initiative with partnership to build a BioNTech vaccine manufacturing plant, hosting the African Medicine Agency, and African Pharmaceutical Foundation, to build a whole healthcare ecosystem on the continent.