Why does it matter?

 The occurrence of Cancer is rapidly rising in Africa. To address this issue, it is important to study all aspects of cancer, including risk reduction, prevention, treatment, and survivorship. Research is essential to tackle this growing burden of cancer, but research requires resources, including funding. One would ask, how much cancer research funding currently exists on the continent? What is the distribution across different regions and countries? Where is the funding coming from? What cancers are being prioritised for funding, and which ones are being neglected? Our recent study in Communications Medicine provides answers to some of these important questions and highlights critical gaps in funding for cancer research in Africa.

 How we did it

 To obtain a comprehensive picture of the cancer research funding landscape over the last two decades, we combined data from four publicly available international funding databases with well-annotated records of projects, funding-related information, and a broad catchment of included projects. We looked at over 3,000 unique projects funded between 2004 and 2023, mapping out where, what, and by whom cancer research is being supported. This approach enhanced the robustness of our study, but came with an important challenge of carefully deduplicating data across similar databases to avoid over-reporting. The development of a centralized, publicly accessible database with unified coding systems across multiple funding bodies will enable optimal tracking and monitoring of cancer research funding and allow better assessment of the impact of funding.

 What are the key findings?

 Our findings were enlightening but also concerning. While there appears to be an overall increase in cancer research funding in Africa over the study period, most of these were clustered in just five countries- Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria. In fact, we found no reported funded studies from 16% of African countries. Breast, lung, and cervical cancers received the most attention, but when matched against actual disease burden, cancers like cervical, prostate, and liver cancers remain underfunded. Moreover, the bulk of funding came from international sources, with the U.S. NIH alone accounting for 70% of grants in two major databases. Locally sourced funding was rare, and when present, overwhelmingly concentrated in Egypt.

 Significance and conclusions

These findings matter now more than ever. As shifts in global health policies increasingly deprioritize funding to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), African countries face the risk of widening an already significant disparity between rising cancer burden and the capacity to respond with evidence-based solutions. But the data also points to opportunities. Funders, researchers, and advocates can use these data to better identify which cancer types and regions are under-resourced, push for more equitable investment, and design funding strategies that reflect real-world priorities. Moreover, these data could also drive local governmental institutions, NGOs, and even philanthropic and private-sector players to step up and fill critical gaps.

This study is a call to action. What’s clear is that Africa cannot afford to rely solely on external sources for its cancer research agenda. To close the cancer research gap in Africa, we need data transparency, smarter funding, and creative, locally led solutions to build a funding ecosystem that’s responsive to African needs.