Africa’s health sovereignty cannot rely on imported solutions or fragile external funding. It demands science as a vital public good.

On Thursday, September 10, 2026, the maiden Culture of Science Conference concluded in Nairobi following three days of intense high-level dialogue (8–10 September) under the theme “𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂’𝒔 𝑭𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝑺𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆.” Co-convened by The Coalition for Health Research and Development (CHReaD) alongside Amref Health Africa, Speak Up Africa, Faith to Action Network, and Africa Health Research, Innovation and Development Alliance (AHRIDA), the forum came up with strong calls to action:

𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑&𝐃 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐆𝐚𝐩: Most African nations currently invest an average of just 0.5% of GDP in R&D. National governments and Ministries of Finance must ring-fence dedicated budget lines to reach the 1% GDP target (AU Algiers Declaration) and meet the 15% national budget commitment to health (Abuja Declaration), an ambition achieved by only three nations today.

𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: AU Member States and the African Medicines Agency (AMA) were urged to finalize the operational integration of harmonized regulatory standards across all Regional Economic Communities by 2030, ensuring at least 10 National Regulatory Authorities attain WHO Maturity Level 3.

𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: AUDA-NEPAD, manufacturers, and procurement partners must accelerate domestic production to supply 50% of Africa’s pharmaceutical needs and achieve 25% local procurement of priority diagnostics and devices by 2030.

𝐀𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐛𝐨𝐱𝐞𝐬:  Establish health-focused sandboxes to safely govern and accelerate the deployment of AI, digital health, and biotechnology across the continent.

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 & 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Expand Africa’s research workforce toward 500 researchers per million population and transition from episodic reporting to regular, structured science journalism engagement.

Africa Health Research, Innovation and Development Alliance (AHRIDA) Steering Committee Chair- Sakhile Khaweka; Amref Health Africa’s C. Shakwei Mbindyo and Maureen Okoth (MSc, PMP®) shared insightful perspectives throughout the deliberations.
Sincere appreciation to The Coalition for Health Research and Development (CHReaD) for the leadership that made the conference a success.

Africa Health Research, Innovation and Development Alliance (AHRIDA) remains committed to consolidating the collaboration, aimed at turning these commitments into measurable policy shifts and sustained impact for Africa’s health innovation ecosystem.