Vaccine Research Trends in Africa from 2016 to Mid-2024: A Bibliometric Analysis

Vaccine research publications play a crucial role in the scientific process by strategically linking the generation of knowledge with its translation into vaccine policy and practice. This study was designed to understand vaccine and immunization research publication trends in Africa to inform strategic directions for vaccine research and innovation efforts in the continent.

We searched PubMed only for vaccine and immunization-related publications from Africa between 1 January 2016 and 8 August 2024. Metrics such as annual growth rates, geographical distribution, international collaboration, and trend topics were analyzed. We conducted separate analyses for general vaccine research, vaccine clinical trials, and vaccine evidence syntheses (systematic reviews and meta-analyses).

Vaccine research in Africa demonstrated an annual growth rate of 55.4% (based on the 10,000 records retrieved due to PubMed's export limit), while vaccine trials saw a decline of 6.08% during the study period. The trend topics analysis across vaccine research, trials, and reviews showed that topics shifted from a focus on general vaccine development, immunization, and malaria pre-2020 to COVID-19-related topics in 2020, with post-2020 research returning to traditional topics like immunization schedules, vaccine safety, and pediatric and maternal vaccines. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on vaccine research, leading to a surge in publications for vaccine research, trials, and reviews. About 65.8% of vaccine research featured international co-authorship. Vaccine trials had a higher rate of international co-authorship at 79.8%.

While vaccine research in general in Africa has increased, vaccine trials do not match this increase. The number of clinical trials remained relatively stagnant, reflecting ongoing challenges in the vaccine research ecosystem, particularly in building and sustaining clinical trial capacity across the region. In addition, disparities in research productivity exist between countries. Research prioritization, strategic collaborations, capacity building for research, and improved research infrastructure require critical consideration.