Sickle Cell Disease Neglect: A Mismatch Between Burden and Research in Africa

Authors

  • Peter Eyong Ebot Department of Public Health and Hygiene, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, P.O Box 63, Buea, Cameroon https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2964-1634 (unauthenticated)
  • Randolf Fuanghene Wefuan Department of Public Health and Hygiene, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, P.O Box 63, Buea, Cameroon
  • Jacob Muruhukye School of Public Health, Makerere University, Uganda https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7534-7674 (unauthenticated)
  • Rita Ewah Mbah Department of Public Health and Hygiene, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, P.O Box 63, Buea, Cameroon
  • Enu-Ma Obi-Asu Department of Public Health and Hygiene, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, P.O Box 63, Buea, Cameroon
  • Spritney Nashua Ninpa Department of Public Health and Hygiene, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, P.O Box 63, Buea, Cameroon
  • Ebere Olive Nwanja Department of obstetrics and Gynecology, Alex Ekwueme Federal University teaching hospital, Abakaliki Nigeria https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1610-2401 (unauthenticated)

Abstract

In the burden-versus-investment landscape of African research, does the distribution of sickle cell disease trials reveal a systematic research gap, despite sickle cell disease affecting more Africans than any other genetic condition [1,2]? This cross-sectional audit used ClinicalTrial.gov records through April 2026, covering 23,87 African and 190,644 United States (US) interventional trials registered. We computed the rate ration comparing Africa to other regions as primary outcome using metadata for each nation. Africa recorded 9 sickle cell trials (0.0% of its portfolio) compared with 574 in US, indicating a 0.02-fold disparity in per-population investment. The Theil index of 1.288 indicated high between country inequality, with decomposition showing most disparity arising from inter-regional gaps. These findings suggest research activities do not align with disease burden, with Africa receiving minimal trial attention relative to need. These results may be limited by the reliance on a single trail registry (ClinicalTrial.gov), which may omit locally registered African studies.

References

1. Piel FB, Hay SI, Gupta S, Weatherall DJ, Williams TN. Global Burden of Sickle Cell Anaemia in Children under Five, 2010–2050: Modelling Based on Demographics, Excess Mortality, and Interventions. PLOS Medicine. 2013;10(7):e1001484.

2. Ware RE, Montalembert M de, Tshilolo L, Abboud MR. Sickle cell disease. The Lancet. 2017;390(10091):311–23.

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Published

2026-06-06 — Updated on 2026-06-16

Versions

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 7: September 2026

Section

E156 Research Letter

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Peter Eyong Ebot, Randolf Fuanghene Wefuan, Jacob Muruhukye, Rita Ewah Mbah, Enu-Ma Obi-Asu , Spritney Nashua Ninpa, Liza Ting Tata , Rhoda Chikula, Grace Kemigisha , Gloria Margaret Nanono , Geofrey Emesu, Janepher Nabaasa , Ebere Olive Nwanja

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Articles in Synthesis are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. Authors retain copyright.

How to Cite

Sickle Cell Disease Neglect: A Mismatch Between Burden and Research in Africa. (2026). Synthesis, 2(7). https://synthesis-medicine.org/index.php/journal/article/view/78 (Original work published 2026)

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