African researchers are increasingly facing financial barriers to publishing their work in academic journals, with rising publication fees threatening equitable participation in global scholarly research, a new study by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) has found.
The study, based on responses from 761 researchers across Africa, found that although Open Access publishing is widely adopted, the cost of making research publicly available remains a significant challenge, with nearly two-thirds of respondents identifying rising Article Processing Charges (APCs) as a major obstacle.
According to the findings, 87 per cent of researchers surveyed had published in Open Access journals, but 62.9 per cent reported that increasing publication charges were a major concern.
The findings highlight a growing contradiction in academic publishing: while Open Access is intended to make scientific knowledge freely available to readers, the costs of publishing can place researchers, particularly those with limited institutional funding, at a disadvantage.
The financial burden is already affecting how some African researchers approach academic publishing and collaboration.
Some respondents reported paying publication fees from their personal funds, while others relied on co-authors with access to sufficient financial resources to cover the charges.
This raises concerns that the ability to disseminate research findings internationally may increasingly depend on researchers' financial capacity rather than the quality or relevance of their work.
For institutions and researchers operating with limited budgets, high APCs could also restrict opportunities to publish in internationally recognised journals and participate in global scientific discussions.
The ASSAf study identifies Diamond Open Access as a potential alternative to APC-based publishing.
Under this model, research articles are freely accessible to readers without authors being charged publication fees, offering a potentially more inclusive approach to scholarly communication.
However, the report cautions that wider adoption faces challenges, including limited journal visibility, financial sustainability, inadequate publishing infrastructure and questions around academic recognition.
Addressing these barriers will require investment in locally managed publishing platforms and stronger institutional support.
The report recommends improving the visibility of Diamond Open Access journals, strengthening publishing infrastructure and developing sustainable funding arrangements to reduce researchers' financial burdens.
It also calls for research evaluation systems that recognise high-quality work published through Diamond Open Access, rather than disadvantageous researchers based on their choice of publishing model.
The full study is available through the ASSAf Research Repository: http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/assaf.2026/127
Article by Jed Mwangi
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