It is easy to be fatalistic about science in sub-Saharan Africa. Researchers there face so many systemic problems - poor facilities, lack of funding, corruption and government instability. Scientists in wealthy nations can also make an impact with smaller contributions. For as little as US$4,000, a university department in Europe or the United States could host an academic from Africa for two weeks. The scientist could attend a major conference, spend time in labs and build collaborations. Bringing the same researcher back every year for five or ten years would lead to a lasting alliance, without contributing to the brain drain that siphons so many African scientists away from the continent.

There have been far too many promises and not enough real action. For five years, Nigeria's government has been promising to establish a $5-billion endowment to set up a National Science Foundation for funding peer-reviewed research, but the oil-rich nation has yet to come up with the money. In 2006, Uganda won $30 million in low-interest loans through the World Bank's Millennium Science Initiative, and has used that windfall to fund research grants. With the money running out, the country declined an opportunity to seek more loans, and promised to support the research projects on its own. But Uganda's latest budget did not include such funding.