Unleashing potential: assessing Africa’s readiness for the data science revolution to impact health

Data Science can revolutionize biomedical sciences, and ultimately, health. However, this relies on core elements, including computing infrastructure, data science skills, and well-curated contextually relevant data, which are limited in low- and middle-income countries. Many big data biomedical projects that have emerged over the last decade have been instrumental in development of datasets, computing infrastructure and skills; yet large disparities remain. Here, we review the data science development within Africa over recent years and identify key gaps and challenges that still hinder its implementation for health. We provide recommendations for establishing a sustainable data science ecosystem within Africa.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2026-04-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71454-4
Primary Topic
Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Biomedical Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Unleashing potential: assessing Africa’s readiness for the data science revolution to impact health

Tshiamo Motshegwa, Sumir Panji, Michelle Skelton, Mahadia Tunga et al.
Nature Communications
Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Biomedical Research
article

Unleashing potential: assessing Africa’s readiness for the data science revolution to impact health

Tshiamo Motshegwa, Sumir Panji, Michelle Skelton, Mahadia Tunga, Rolanda Julius, Nicola Mulder, Verena Ras, Abdoallah Sharaf, Suresh Maslamoney, Judy Gichoya
article en

Abstract

Data Science can revolutionize biomedical sciences, and ultimately, health. However, this relies on core elements, including computing infrastructure, data science skills, and well-curated contextually relevant data, which are limited in low- and middle-income countries. Many big data biomedical projects that have emerged over the last decade have been instrumental in development of datasets, computing infrastructure and skills; yet large disparities remain. Here, we review the data science development within Africa over recent years and identify key gaps and challenges that still hinder its implementation for health. We provide recommendations for establishing a sustainable data science ecosystem within Africa.

Nature Communications
Ain Shams University (EG), Emory University (US), University of Dar es Salaam (TZ), University of Konstanz (DE), Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa (ZA), National Research Foundation (ZA)
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Openalex Percentile: Top 20%
Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Biomedical Research
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.

Unleashing potential: assessing Africa’s readiness for the data science revolution to impact health — Tshiamo Motshegwa, Sumir Panji, et al. · Nature Communications (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS