Transforming COVID-19 Research Priorities for Sustainable Development in Africa

Abstract

This study provides a bibliometric analysis of African COVID-19 research outputs from 2019 to 2025, exploring trends in original research articles, citation performance, funding patterns, partnership networks, thematic areas, and alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Metadata retrieved from Web of Science™ and Scopus were examined utilizing statistical software (GraphPad Prism version 10.2.3), bibliometric mapping, and collaboration network visualization. Africa produced 14,561 original research articles (a global research output of 2.8%), with South Africa and Egypt accounting for 44.72% of original research articles. Research output and citation peaked in the year 2022 and declined from the year 2023, with the domination of medicine and associated health sciences areas, aligned with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), demonstrating 54.4% of the research outputs. Notwithstanding various funding sources, less correlation occurred between original research articles and funding levels, underscoring the necessity for reinforced institutional capacity. Moreover, intra-African collaboration remained partial, with South Africa being at the forefront of cross-country collaboration. The findings unravel improvement and persevering gaps in African COVID-19 research, underlining the significance of impartial capacity building, diversified into under-represented SDGs, for instance SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 7 (Clean Energy), and purpose-built policy frameworks to strengthen pandemic preparedness and multidisciplinary resilience.