TY - JOUR
T1 - Improving African health research capacity
AU - Lazarus, Jeff
AU - Wallace, Samantha A
AU - Liljestrand, Jerker
PY - 2010/8/1
Y1 - 2010/8/1
N2 - The issue of strengthening local research capacity in Africa is again high on the health and development agenda. The latest initiative comes from the Wellcome Trust. But when it comes to capacity development, one of the chief obstacles that health sectors in the region must confront is the migration of health professionals to countries that offer more lucrative opportunities, like those in western Europe. To combat this ''brain drain'', already back in 1984, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) created a training programme in which healthcare professionals from Africa conducted the bulk of their research in their own countries. However, the model was only partly successful. Several years ago, we assessed the preconditions for the renewal of Sida support for research and research training activities in the region. Based on our work to develop a critical mass of beneficial research capacity in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, this article suggests several recommendations to both donors and governments that have broad application for general health research issues in the region.
AB - The issue of strengthening local research capacity in Africa is again high on the health and development agenda. The latest initiative comes from the Wellcome Trust. But when it comes to capacity development, one of the chief obstacles that health sectors in the region must confront is the migration of health professionals to countries that offer more lucrative opportunities, like those in western Europe. To combat this ''brain drain'', already back in 1984, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) created a training programme in which healthcare professionals from Africa conducted the bulk of their research in their own countries. However, the model was only partly successful. Several years ago, we assessed the preconditions for the renewal of Sida support for research and research training activities in the region. Based on our work to develop a critical mass of beneficial research capacity in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, this article suggests several recommendations to both donors and governments that have broad application for general health research issues in the region.
KW - Africa South of the Sahara
KW - Emigration and Immigration
KW - Humans
KW - International Cooperation
KW - Public Health
KW - Reproductive Medicine
KW - Research
KW - Research Support as Topic
U2 - 10.1177/1403494810372265
DO - 10.1177/1403494810372265
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 20529965
SN - 1403-4948
VL - 38
SP - 670
EP - 671
JO - Acta socio-medica Scandinavica
JF - Acta socio-medica Scandinavica
IS - 6
ER -
