African scientific researchers bravely assert their place in global knowledge production

The recent decision by the respected global medical journal The Lancet to reject papers with data from Africa that fail to acknowledge African contributors has rightfully been applauded by the global research community.

This brave act is confirming ethical research protocols that should never have been abandoned in the first place.

Even more important than acknowledging the contribution of African scholars, is to recognise the work they produce on its own merit and not to continuously look at it through a Eurocentric lens to gauge its value.

Africans should contribute more to global narratives. This would prevent universal issues such as global heating from taking centre stage in the media only when it is relevant to the North, such as this year when record-breaking temperatures were recorded in the northern hemisphere.

It is an undisputed reality that the research environments in the Global North and Global South constitute two vastly different scenarios. Scarcity of research and development resources and socioeconomic challenges are constant factors that African researchers have to deal with, which their Northern counterparts are largely unaffected by.

A Unesco report of 2015 reveals that while Africa accounts for around 15% of the world’s population, money available for research and development accounts for only about 1.3% of global expenditure. On top of that, due to heavy teaching loads, as well as the lack of capacity and expensive equipment, many African scholars find it challenging to engage intensively in research.

Apart from isolated centres of excellence, there is an overall shortage of research skills on the continent, inevitably leading to inhibited scientific performance. Africa has limited private sector participation in research and innovation funding, as companies outsource research to holding companies in the Global North.

Also, accessing international funding and building the required network of researchers is often extremely difficult due to the cost of travel and flight scheduling on the continent. International donors generally evaluate research based on publication in international peer-reviewed journals. But so often African researchers struggle to get published in such journals for a variety of reasons, ranging from thematic relevance (African researchers tend to focus predominantly on African issues) to language barriers and prejudice.

In such vastly different research environments, it becomes problematic to apply northern hemisphere notions of what constitutes research excellence to work produced in the Global South. Globally, academics seem to agree that research excellence is influenced by a variety of factors, including political considerations, availability of funding, the ease of building networks, and social and cultural environments in which researchers must work and perform.

The quality of research is inevitably affected by economic conditions and the availability of human resources, which makes for an unequal playing field between the Global North and the Global South.

There have been increased calls in recent times for African universities to adopt an African-centred paradigm, so that African researchers can draw their own conclusions, framed by their specific philosophies and experience, instead of being directed by Eurocentric perspectives.

Research quality standards prevailing in the Global North cannot simply be transposed to the Global South without any further contextualisation and customisation. One also needs to be sensitive to the fact that research in Africa is often inspired by pressing localised, societal needs, which can raise questions about global relevance.

Africa’s history of colonisation, slavery, and oppression has left an indelible mark on its education and research systems. Colonial education did little to build the self-esteem of African scholars. It was in essence self-serving, aimed at creating a skilled labour force in the service of colonial authorities. It can largely be described as “vocational training”, with the critical thinking element deliberately removed in order to prevent rebellion and uprising.

South African universities have in general responded admirably to the warranted calls for a decolonised curriculum, with most of them having undertaken comprehensive and ongoing decolonisation and Africanisation processes.

Africa’s contribution to global knowledge