Malawi has emerged as a serious continental health research player after Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (Kuhes) secured a top-five position among Africa’s leading institutions in health sciences. The 2025 Research Leaders ranking places Kuhes fifth based on Nature Index data covering January 1 to December 31 2024, highlighting the university’s growing influence in high-impact scientific publishing. During the review period, Kuhes produced 28 health sciences articles and six biological sciences articles published in journals such asThe Lancet Global Health, Nature CommunicationsandPLOS Medicine, earning a 3.53 share that reflects its fractional contribution to global research output.
Prof e s sor Adamson Mu u l a , He a d o f t h e Department of Community and Environmental Health and Director of the Africa Centre of Excellence in Public Health and Herbal Medicine at Kuhes, linked the ranking to the university’s research ecosystem that combines core academic departments with semi-autonomous affiliates. “We have the Johns Hopkins Project at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Programme, the Malaria Alert Centre, the Centre for Non- Communicable Diseases and the Malawi Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit. These affiliates are research-intensive, train master’s and PhD students and contribute directly to Kuhes publications,” he said.
Nature Index data shows that about 88 percent of Kuhes’ research share is driven by international collaboration, notably with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, University of Liverpool, University College London and Imperial College London. Muula described the ranking as a strategic opportunity for Malawi to reposition itself globally. “This is something Malawi should sell to the world.
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We are no longer small players. Funders can see that when they invest in KUHeS, delivery follows,” he said. Health rights campaigner Maziko Matemba said the recognition could have wider benefits beyond academia. Over the past five years, the Africa Centre of Excellence in Public Health and Herbal Medicine has trained more than a thousand researchers across Malawi and the continent and contributed to over 300 publications, reinforcing Kuhes’ role in research capacity building.
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