Bridging the Evidence Gap: African Representation in Global Randomized Controlled Trials (2019

Bridging the Evidence Gap: African Representation in Global Randomized Controlled Trials (2019–2024)

MedXY Editorial Team•Mar 20, 2026•Medical News

Between 2019 and 2024, only 3.9% of RCTs in top general medical journals were conducted exclusively in Africa.
The representation in leading cardiovascular journals is even lower, with just 0.6% of trials being Africa-only.
Africa-based trials are heavily skewed toward infectious diseases (75.9%), despite the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
South Africa dominates the African research landscape, while Central African nations remain almost entirely excluded from high-impact clinical evidence production.
Equitable leadership remains a challenge; African researchers are frequently leads in local trials but are underrepresented in multicontinental trial leadership.

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This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.

Between 2019 and 2024, only 3.9% of RCTs in top general medical journals were conducted exclusively in Africa.
The representation in leading cardiovascular journals is even lower, with just 0.6% of trials being Africa-only.
Africa-based trials are heavily skewed toward infectious diseases (75.9%), despite the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
South Africa dominates the African research landscape, while Central African nations remain almost entirely excluded from high-impact clinical evidence production.
Equitable leadership remains a challenge; African researchers are frequently leads in local trials but are underrepresented in multicontinental trial leadership.