Decolonising Neglected Tropical Diseases research in Africa: insights, challenges and promising practices

Colonial legacies have significantly shaped global health, creating power imbalances between the Global North and the Global South, which in turn affect research, priorities and health interventions, particularly in the field of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). Decolonisation aims to promote equity, local leadership and inclusivity. Despite growing global attention to NTDs, the governance and research landscape has yet to be interrogated from a decolonial perspective. This paper offers a novel contribution by analysing historical and structural asymmetries through a literature review and insights from a panel discussion at the XII Iberian Congress of African Studies. Decolonising global health research requires equitable collaborations, recognition of local leadership and an understanding of how the logic of race impacts inequity. Key challenges include power imbalances in funding and authorship, limited leadership opportunities for researchers from the Global South, extractive practices that overlook local contexts and intersectionality and persistent barriers to participation in global forums. Progress can be made by promoting holistic approaches, supporting research exchanges, reintegrating trained professionals into local systems and advocating for community-driven, interdisciplinary research. Strategies such as fostering equitable partnerships, strengthening research infrastructure, engaging local stakeholders and prioritising social acceptability in intervention design are essential for African countries to address systemic inequities in knowledge production and utilisation. Grounded in an analysis of power imbalances in NTD research, this paper proposes pathways towards more inclusive, locally led and context-sensitive approaches that advance epistemic justice and sustainable health solutions.