Research

WHO supports Member States in strengthening research governance, building and sustaining resources for health research and development, enhancing the production and use of evidence, establishing sustainable research financing, developing and implementing digital health capabilities, and harnessing and scaling up high-impact innovations.

While Africa is home to 18% of the global population, the continent currently accounts for less than 1% of global health research output, invests far less in innovation (approximately 0.01% per capita) and lags behind in digital health implementation. These figures indicate a significant gap in capacity building, investment and utilization.

Several factors contribute to this gap, including limited funding, inadequate infrastructure, weak governance, and insufficient integration of research findings, digital health and innovation into health practice.

To close these gaps, WHO in the African Region is pursuing the following priority actions:

  • Research governance and financing: strengthen research governance and financing.
  • Evidence for policy-making: enhance the use of evidence for policy making.
  • Partnerships: foster regional partnerships and collaboration.
  • Knowledge for health: advance knowledge for health by establishing the WHO AFRO Peer-Reviewed Journal.
  • Digital health: strengthen digital health solutions through strategy development and updates in priority countries, scaling up regional capacity.
  • Innovation: scale up innovations through WHO selected projects.

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Regional workshop - Strengthening clinical trials to provide high-quality evidence on health interventions and to improve research quality and coordination
16 April 2024 | Reports

Regional workshop - Strengthening clinical trials to provide high-quality evidence on health interventions and to improve research quality and coordination

At the 75th World Health Assembly, a resolution (WHA75.8) was passed with the mandate to prepare a global guidance on best practices to help guide Member States’ implementation of scientifically and ethically sound clinical trials as well as guidance on best practices for non-State actors in the design and conduct of clinical trials and in strengthening the global clinical trial ecosystem.

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