UK Govt Funding Cut Threatens Future of African Science Research

The bombshell announcement that one of the major international funding instruments for universities in South Africa - and the rest of Africa - is cutting its budget by half and terminating or reducing most of its current grants is just the latest blow to the country's research enterprise, write Sue Harrison and Linda Mtwisha for Daily Maverick.

UK Research & Innovation-funded (UKRI) research at the University of Cape Town is tackling the most challenging global problems in collaboration with UK universities and universities elsewhere in Africa, including multimillion-rand investment into multinational research groupings that are addressing, among other topics, the overexploitation and pollution of our oceans, the most pressing issues facing Africa's adolescents, climate change, health challenges on the continent and abroad, home-grown vaccine development, and poverty and inequality. The significant research advances and capacity built by this considerable investment are possibly at risk due to UKRI funding cuts.