African scientists have been urged to strengthen research and innovation to address neglected women’s health conditions and develop affordable solutions tailored to the continent’s needs.

The call was made during the Leadership for Innovation and Excellence in Accelerating Research on Women’s Health (LEA-WH) Fellowship, Women’s Health Ecosystem Forum, hosted by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Nairobi this week.

KEMRI Senior Principal Clinical Research Scientist, Prof. Elizabeth Bukusi, said women’s health research must extend beyond pregnancy and childbirth, to address the full spectrum of health challenges women face throughout their lives.

She said conditions such as heavy menstrual bleeding, fibroids, and endometriosis, continue to affect women’s education, productivity, and quality of life, yet are often normalized or overlooked.

“Women are not born to suffer. This is not part and parcel of being a woman,” Prof. Bukusi said, noting that girls and women lose valuable school and working days due to menstrual disorders and related conditions.

She added that Africa had the scientific talent to develop solutions, but required greater investment, training and research opportunities to translate ideas into products that respond to local needs.

Prof. Bukusi who is also the Programme Director of the LEA-WH called on African governments to honour commitments to allocate at least two percent of their gross domestic product to research, saying evidence-based decisions and locally generated data were essential to improving women’s health.

Dr. Maike Scharp of the Gates Foundation, said women globally continue to experience significant health disadvantages, because of longstanding gaps in research, investment and innovation.

She noted that women live with poor health for 25 per cent more of their lives than men, while medicines are 3.5 times more likely to be withdrawn for safety reasons in women, partly reflecting historical underrepresentation in clinical trials.

Dr. Scharp said the disparity was also evident in research investment, citing the difference between the approximately 580 drug-development candidates for diabetes and about 20 for endometriosis, despite both conditions affecting roughly one in 10 people in their respective populations.

She said the Gates Foundation was supporting women’s health research through initiatives targeting innovation, data gaps, partnerships and pathways to bring new products to market.

KEMRI and World Health Organization researcher, Prof. James Kiarie, said the LEA-WH Fellowship was designed to build African research leadership and help translate scientific discoveries into practical interventions.

The three-year initiative, launched in October 2025 with support from the Gates Foundation and implemented in partnership with the US National Academy of Medicine and KEMRI, has enrolled 20 fellows from 11 African countries in its inaugural cohort.

The Programme aims to support up to 60 fellows over three years through research leadership, mentorship, product development and innovation pathways.

Prof. Kiarie said the initiative would prioritize conditions, including menstrual health disorders, reproductive tract infections, cervical cancer, endometriosis, infertility and contraceptive technologies.

He said its ambitions included advancing five to 10 health products towards market testing, supporting-up to 10 start-ups and establishing new partnerships.

Prof. Kiarie urged fellows to develop solutions that reflect Africa’s realities, stressing that research must go beyond publications to deliver measurable improvements in women’s lives.

By Wangari Ndirangu