Background: 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. Methods: 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). Results: 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%. Conclusion: 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.

Background: This scoping review aims to systematically examine the extent of the literature on African health histories throughout the pre-colonial, colonial, post-independence, primary health care (PHC), Millennium Development Goals (MDG), and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) periods. Methods: This scoping review followed the Arksey and O’Malley framework, enhanced by Levac’s updates and adaptations from the Joanna Briggs Institute’s methodology. Data from eligible records were extracted based on inclusion criteria and summarized narratively. Results: We included 83 records, of which the majority (n = 70) were narrative reviews. Eighteen of these provide evidence from Africa as a whole, while country-specific evidence was obtained from 21 countries. South Africa had the most records (n = 17), followed by Ghana (n = 6) and Nigeria (n = 6). The majority of evidence came from the colonial period (n = 13), followed by the PHC and MDG periods (n = 12 each). Health systems in the pre-colonial era were rooted in indigenous practices and community-driven systems; the colonial period introduced Western-style health care systems; the post-independence period focused on health promotion initiatives and infectious disease eradication; the PHC era focused on community-centered health care and equitable service provision; the MDG era expanded on targeted interventions for infectious diseases, and the SDG era aims to build resilient and inclusive health care systems towards universal health coverage. Conclusion: This review revealed diverse influences on health systems from the pre-colonial to SDG eras. However, these records are not exhaustive and require country-specific records, archived documents, and a centralized repository. Addressing these gaps will provide a comprehensive understanding of African health histories and aid in future health interventions.

The Expanded Programme on Immunisation demonstrated remarkable success for 50 years, accounting for 52% reduction in infant mortality in Africa. As antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to be a threat in Africa, responsible for 250,000 deaths in WHO African region in 2019, vaccines offer proven solutions. Studies from South Africa demonstrate that pneumococcal conjugate vaccines significantly reduced drug-resistant pneumococcal infections, with 67-96% reductions in resistant strains. Increasing immunisation coverage in Africa, reduces disease burden while providing a cost-effective strategy to combat antimicrobial resistance.

Objectives: This scoping review mapped antimicrobial resistance (AMR)-related interventions in WHO African region against the five strategic objectives of the WHO Global Action Plan (GAP) on AMR and identified evidence gaps limiting progress. Design: A scoping review using the Arksey and O’Malley framework, enhanced by Levac et al and Joanna Briggs Institute methodology; reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Data sources: PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science and Scopus searched on 9 December 2025, with grey literature from Google Scholar and Google (first 100 hits). Eligibility criteria: Studies of any design reporting interventions addressing GAP strategic objectives—stewardship, surveillance, infection prevention, education or economic approaches in the WHO African region. Data extraction and synthesis: Data were charted using a pilot-tested Excel tool by GAP strategic objective and evidence gaps and research considerations were synthesised thematically. Results: Forty-nine studies (2016–2025) were included, with country-specific evidence concentrated in South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria. Most evaluated antimicrobial stewardship or awareness/training interventions in tertiary hospitals, showing improvements in prescribing, knowledge and occasional cost savings but few assessed long-term effects or resistance trends. Surveillance had advanced but remained limited by weak laboratory capacity, diagnostic coverage, data quality and limited use of AMR/antimicrobial use data in practice. Evidence on infection prevention, vaccination and One Health interventions was scarce and no full economic evaluations were identified. Conclusions: AMR research in the African region clusters around antimicrobial stewardship and awareness in tertiary hospitals, leaving infection prevention, vaccination, One Health approaches and economic evaluation substantially underrepresented across the GAP framework. Closing these gaps will require longer-term implementation research, context-specific economic analyses and broader geographical coverage to generate the evidence needed to operationalise the global AMR research agenda in Africa.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services are essential for learner health and equitable education. Persistent gaps in WASH infrastructure and hygiene provision remain a major challenge in low- and middle-income countries. We assessed WASH interventions, learner knowledge and perceptions, and implementation challenges and opportunities in five selected primary schools in eThekwini District, South Africa. We conducted a cross-sectional study among Grade 7 learners using a structured questionnaire adapted from the World Health Organization (WHO) Surveillance of WASH in Schools Tool, complemented by observational checklists. Stratified random sampling yielded 129 participants (76 girls and 53 boys), with a 72% response rate. Quantitative data were analysed using Chi-square, Fisher’s exact, and Kruskal–Wallis tests, as appropriate. Although drinking water access was generally reliable, significant gaps were observed in sanitation privacy, soap and toilet paper availability, cleanliness, and menstrual hygiene facilities. Female learners consistently reported poorer conditions than males (p < 0.05). The Hygiene Access Index differed significantly across gender and age groups (p < 0.05), reflecting inequitable provision of hygiene materials. Despite educational initiatives, substantial shortcomings persist in school WASH systems, particularly regarding sanitation privacy, hygiene supplies, and menstrual hygiene management, with potential implications for learner health, educational participation, gender equity, and school attendance. Sustaining gender-responsive WASH systems is essential for improving learner health and promoting equitable educational environments. Sustainable WASH systems refer to the consistent availability, functionality, maintenance, and equitable use of WASH infrastructure and services over time, supported by institutional capacity and behavioural adherence. These findings highlight the need for implementation-focused and systems-oriented approaches to strengthen sustainable WASH service delivery in resource-constrained school settings.

Background: South Africa launched a school-based human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme in 2014 and has achieved a national coverage of more than 80%. However, there is subnational variation in coverage, with eThekwini District in the province of KwaZulu-Natal having the lowest coverage at 40%. Knowledge of the factors associated with vaccine acceptance in this district would inform tailored strategies to improve coverage, which could be extrapolated to similar settings. We conducted this cross-sectional study to assess the factors associated with HPV vaccine acceptance in eThekwini District. Methods: We used stratified random sampling to select caregivers of children aged 9–14 years in the district. We interviewed participants in April–May 2023 and employed bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models to assess the factors associated with HPV vaccine acceptance. Results: Of 793 individuals contacted, 713 (89.9%) participated. Most were women (86.1%) and had a mean age of 42.6 ± 11.6 years and secondary or lower education (83.8%). Most participants knew about the HPV vaccination programme (86.0%) and accepted HPV vaccination (93.5%). The latter includes 42.9% who had already vaccinated their daughters and 50.6% who were willing to allow their daughters to be vaccinated. A negligible proportion was either undecided (2.1%) or unwilling (4.4%) to accept HPV vaccination. Awareness of the programme (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 5.22; 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 2.01–13.56), confidence in vaccine safety (aOR 19.69; 95%CI 5.86–66.15), and endorsement by religious leaders (aOR 5.06; 95%CI 1.56–16.45) were independent predictors of vaccine acceptance. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the critical role of the provision of information and education about the benefits and safety of HPV vaccination.