Recent major shifts in global health financing are threatening hard-won gains in health research, particularly in and on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In the spirit of turning this moment into an opportunity, Rasanathan et al. (2026) outline concrete actions to move away from LMICs’ dependency on high-income country funding.
Their recommendations span around global public goods, capacity strengthening, and direct financing. Domestically, countries can build active demand for research through increased national investment – a path already demonstrated by China, India, and South Africa. At the agenda-setting level, countries must strike a balance between their own research priorities and global trends, such as the growing role of AI in the life sciences. Globally, the authors call for producing knowledge that is more transferable to LMIC contexts, and for middle-income countries to take on a greater role in international research networks, advancing equity from within.
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