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“Why Does West Africa Produce So Little Research on Gender and Health?
Reproductive and sexual health research shapes how governments and donors design health programmes across Africa. When certain regions produce little of this research, their communities risk being left out of decisions that affect their lives directly.
Lowe and colleagues (2026) offer a critical opinion piece examining why West Africa contributes so few publications on gender-transformative sexual and reproductive health.
Drawing on a scoping review of 45 publications and a multi-stakeholder workshop held in Cape Town, they find that West Africa accounts for just 11.1% of authorship in this field, with zero representation from Francophone countries.
The authors identify four driving factors. Colonial legacies keep English dominant in academic publishing, freezing out French-speaking researchers. Biomedical funding priorities, particularly around malaria and HIV, crowd out gender-focused research.
Cultural and religious backlash frames gender equality as Western interference. Finally, legal and social pressures force researchers to water down their language just to operate safely.
The authors recommend bilingual training programmes, South-South research collaboration, and stronger investment in local knowledge platforms.
Structural barriers rooted in language, funding, culture, and politics actively prevent West African researchers from telling their own stories.”
Title: Publication disparities in gender-transformative sexual and reproductive health in West Africa
Authors: Mat Lowe, Kéfilath Bello, Bernice Gyawu, John K. Krugu, Aminatou I. Assoumane, Ngianga B. Kandala, Nathalie Sawadogo
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