Biosystems and Environmental Engineering Research Group, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zimbabwe, P.O.Box MP 167, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Department of Environmental Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Rokietnicka 8, 60-806, Poznań, Poland; Integrated Science Association (ISA), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Poznań, Poland.
Environ Res. 2021 Mar;194:110637. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.110637. Epub 2020 Dec 26.
By mid-September 2020, over 1.33 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 32 thousand deaths had been reported in Africa. Global research on COVID-19 went 'viral' with a record 3487 research contributions comprising of 2062 journal papers and 1425 preprints published within the first three months following the outbreak of COVID-19. Surprisingly, the silence of the African research community has been unprecedented - contributing a paltry 0.6% (22 contributions), a figure nearly matched by Colombia (18 publications). Until now, a comprehensive perspective on the reasons for this subdued research response, and COVID-19 themes critical to Africa has been missing. We posit that while a milieu of factors accounts for this silence, unprecedented research opportunities exist to support COVID-19 decision and policy formulation in Africa. The subdued response reflects weak research systems, characterized by deep-rooted challenges, including severe lack of research expertise, funding, and infrastructure, coupled with poor working conditions. Hence, Africa's contribution to research on infectious diseases, including COVID-19, remains weak. Perceptions and attitudes among researchers and policy-makers on COVID-19, and the role of science in decision and policy-making also exist. Moreover, COVID-19 and earlier severe acute respiratory syndromes are considered as 'imported diseases' originating from outside Africa. Thus, notions may exist that the control methods will come from outside Africa through 'technology-transfer' or 'capacity-building'. Yet local COVID-19 research is needed to address knowledge gaps, including; (1) potential novel transmission of SARS-CoV-2, (2) adaption of generic COVID-19 control measures to suit African settings, (3) occurrence and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in solid waste, wastewaters, on-site sanitation systems, and drinking water, and (4) the 'human factor' including the role of gender, perceptions, myths, attitudes, and religious beliefs in the transmission and control of COVID-19. Therefore, there is a need to: (1) strengthen local research capacity and evaluation systems, (2) consider biosafety and ethical issues, (3) initiate cross-disciplinary research and global collaboration on COVID-19, and (4) integrate science communication in COVID-19 programs.
截至 2020 年 9 月中旬，非洲已报告超过 133 万例确诊的 COVID-19 病例和 3.2 万例死亡。全球对 COVID-19 的研究“爆发”了，在 COVID-19 爆发后的头三个月内，记录了 3487 项研究贡献，其中包括 2062 篇期刊论文和 1425 篇预印本。令人惊讶的是，非洲研究界的沉默是前所未有的——仅贡献了微不足道的 0.6%（22 项贡献），这一数字几乎与哥伦比亚（18 项出版物）相当。到目前为止，对于这种低调的研究反应的原因，以及对非洲至关重要的 COVID-19 主题，还没有一个全面的看法。我们假设，虽然有一系列因素导致了这种沉默，但为支持非洲 COVID-19 决策和政策制定，存在前所未有的研究机会。这种低调的反应反映了薄弱的研究系统，其特点是存在根深蒂固的挑战，包括严重缺乏研究专业知识、资金和基础设施，以及恶劣的工作条件。因此，非洲在传染病研究方面的贡献，包括 COVID-19，仍然薄弱。研究人员和决策者对 COVID-19 的看法和态度，以及科学在决策和政策制定中的作用也存在。此外，COVID-19 和早期的严重急性呼吸系统综合征被认为是源自非洲以外的“输入性疾病”。因此，可能存在这样的观念，即控制方法将通过“技术转让”或“能力建设”来自非洲以外。然而，需要进行本地 COVID-19 研究来解决知识空白，包括：（1）SARS-CoV-2 的潜在新型传播；（2）使通用 COVID-19 控制措施适应非洲环境；（3）SARS-CoV-2 在固体废物、废水、现场卫生系统和饮用水中的存在和持续存在；（4）“人为因素”，包括性别、观念、神话、态度和宗教信仰在 COVID-19 传播和控制中的作用。因此，需要：（1）加强本地研究能力和评估系统；（2）考虑生物安全和伦理问题；（3）启动 COVID-19 跨学科研究和全球合作；（4）将科学传播纳入 COVID-19 计划。
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