Africa has trained investigators and established research capacity, yet sponsors continue to confine most studies on the continent to infectious disease. The result is a disconnect: Sites are prepared to do more, but the studies reaching them don’t reflect the region’s full health needs.
Meanwhile, the burden of non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular illness, diabetes, and cancer is growing. These conditions now account for 37% of deaths in the WHO African Region—up from 24% in 2000. But they still remain underrepresented in trial activity.
That gap matters. Medicines continue to be approved for global use without adequate evidence from African populations, leaving patients underserved and sponsors without the data that would make their treatments truly global.
Retention should be one of Africa’s strengths. Large, treatment-naïve populations and fewer competing studies mean sites are well-positioned to keep participants enrolled. But the reality is different.
Patients often face the full cost of travel, meals, and lost wages when joining a study. A South African survey found most participants spend reimbursements on transportation and food, underscoring that trial participation creates a real financial strain. When sponsors don’t provide consistent support, sites are left to fill the gap.
Many sites still keep cash on hand to pay patients. It’s risky, inefficient, and frankly a distraction from the research itself. At the same time, regulators like SAHPRA already outline clear expectations for participant reimbursement, showing that fair compensation is not optional—it’s an ethical requirement.
The combination of financial burden on patients and administrative burden on sites creates a bottleneck. Without secure, reliable patient services, the infrastructure that Africa has worked hard to build risks being undercut by the most basic obstacle: the cost of simply showing up.
African regulators aren’t standing still. The African Medicines Agency (AMA) has entered its operational phase, with a permanent headquarters established in Kigali. Its mandate is to bring countries onto the same page for how trials are run and to make sure they’re safe, ethical, and reliable.
National authorities are also modernizing their frameworks, aligning more closely with international expectations for how trials should be run. This momentum creates a rare opening. Policies are in motion, and regulators are receptive to arguments that patient services are not optional add-ons, but the foundation for enrollment and retention.
Sponsors and service partners that engage now can help shape the standards that will govern African trials for the next decade.
Across the continent, the foundation for large-scale research is already in place. Networks like IAVI link more than 40 trial-ready centers in 14 countries, and surveys of late-stage vaccine centers confirm that trained staff and modern infrastructure span sub-Saharan Africa.
Trial activity is also trending upward. Africa accounted for just over 1% of new global studies in 2023—still a small share, but evidence of growth and an untapped opportunity for sponsors willing to expand beyond infectious disease.
Infrastructure alone won’t determine whether Africa becomes a true hub. It’s whether patients and sites receive the services that make participation sustainable.
With reliable payments and practical support in place, Africa’s readiness can translate into trials that are faster to enroll, better retained, and more representative of global populations.
Infrastructure and patient populations create potential. But potential only matters if it translates into reliable trial outcomes, and that depends on whether the right support is in place.
Scout can provide that layer:
With this kind of support, sites can activate more quickly, patients can remain in studies, and sponsors can achieve timelines and generate data that reflect real populations. It isn’t about adding extras. It’s about making trial readiness fully usable, which is precisely what Scout’s built to deliver.
Africa’s sites and infrastructure are ready. Regulators are moving. Patients want (and need) access to research beyond infectious disease. What holds things back isn’t willpower, it’s whether the practical supports are in place to keep trials running smoothly.
This is the moment to get it right. Sponsors that step in now with reliable patient services won’t just finish studies faster. They’ll make sure medicines are tested where they’re needed and prove Africa’s place as a full partner in global research.
Ready for more than talk? So are we. Connect with Scout to see how patient services can make your next study possible here.
Executive Vice President, Quality and Regulatory, Data Protection Officer KimberLee Heidmann joined Scout in 2001 and has served the life sciences in multiple capacities since 1998. Click here to connect with KimberLee on LinkedIn.