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Investing more in health research and development could generate $668 billion in additional GDP across Africa over the next 20 years, according to a new report from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and Team Europe.

The report, titled Investing in Health R&D: Africa’s Next Economic Growth Frontier, was launched at a side event during the World Health Assembly in Geneva.

Developed under the AU-EU Health Partnership, the analysis was led by Africa CDC, with financial support from Belgium and Germany and technical support from Global Health Ecosystems, Enabel, and GIZ. It models the macroeconomic effects of higher African investment in health R&D, including impacts on GDP growth, employment, private investment, trade balances, and scientific capacity.

According to the report, if African countries meet the African Union target of investing 1% of GDP in research and development, with 15% of that allocated to health R&D, the continent could add $668 billion in GDP over 20 years. The report says every $1 invested would generate $137 in economic value, investments would break even within four years, 4.56 million jobs would be created by 2044, and each $1 in public spending could attract $5 in private capital.

The report frames health R&D not only as a health priority but also as a strategic driver of economic sovereignty, industrial development, and regional competitiveness.

“Africa cannot continue importing the technologies that determine the health and economic future of its people,” said Dr Raji Tajudeen, acting deputy director-general of Africa CDC. “This report shows that investing in African health R&D is not only a health priority – it is a pathway to economic sovereignty, industrial growth and resilience. If we do not own Africa’s health, we do not own Africa’s destiny.”

The report says stronger investment in health R&D could help African economies build higher-value manufacturing industries, reduce import dependence, strengthen health security, attract private capital, create skilled jobs and retain scientific talent.

Africa bears 25 per cent of the global disease burden but captures only a small share of the economic value generated by health innovation, the report says, arguing that the continent must shift from importing solutions to developing them.

The report also warns of the cost of inaction, saying Africa could forgo more than $1 trillion in GDP over the next two decades if health R&D investment falls below current levels, while remaining reliant on imported technologies and external supply chains.

Alongside the economic modelling, the report points to blended finance as a growing source of support for African health innovation systems, citing Rwanda’s BioNTech partnership, which it says has mobilised more than $500 million in combined financing.

According to the report, scaling African health R&D will require closer coordination among governments, regional institutions, development finance institutions and international partners to build sustainable innovation and manufacturing ecosystems. It urges African governments to meet the African Union target of investing 1% of GDP in research and development, with 15% allocated to health R&D, while using procurement, incentives and regulatory reform to strengthen local innovation markets.

It also says Africa CDC and its partners are working on a continental investment blueprint to aggregate investable opportunities, align governments and investors, and mobilise blended finance for clinical trials, manufacturing, translational research and shared innovation infrastructure.

The report’s launch is part of Africa CDC’s wider push to advance health sovereignty and economic transformation through African-led innovation systems.