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Open Access Africa: Showcasing African research

Collection published in Infectious Agents and Cancer, International Journal for Equity in Health, International Journal of Health Geographics, Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, Systematic Reviews, Journal of Medical Case Reports, and BMC Health Services Research.

In November 2012 the third Open Access Africa event, hosted by BioMed Central and the University of Cape Town, discussed the implications of open access for African research. Through this collection of articles, we want to highlight the quality and the breadth of the research being carried out across Africa. It brings together a diverse range of specialities and study types, featuring research into diseases prevalent within the continent, and offering insights into health policy that can be implemented throughout the world. Case reports and clinical trials allow health workers to keep up to date with the latest treatments and information.

As internet and mobile technology improves, access to knowledge increases. This collection aims to show the impact of open access, which allows free access to and distribution of published articles, meaning that individuals aren't limited to seeing content from the journals they have subscribed to. Authors retain copyright of their work through a Creative Commons attribution license; they or anyone else can distribute it and reuse it as needed. Through open-access publication, the visibility of African researchers and institutions is improved, and the opportunity for local and international collaborations increase.

  1. Most studies on health inequalities use average measures, but describing the distribution of health can also provide valuable knowledge. In this paper, we estimate and compare within-group and between-group in...

    Authors: Eirik Joakim Tranvåg, Merima Ali and Ole Frithjof Norheim
    Citation: International Journal for Equity in Health 2013 12:52
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. Trachoma is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa and is mainly associated with poor water accessibility. However, these associations have never been demonstrated in some of the communities, especially in n...

    Authors: Michael J Mahande, Humphrey D Mazigo and Eliningaya J Kweka
    Citation: Infectious Diseases of Poverty 2012 1:10
    Content type: Research Article Published on:

  3. This review aims at providing synthetic information with scientific evidence on the trends in the malaria events from 1960 to 2011, with the hope that it will help policy makers to take informed decisions on p...

    Authors: Ernest Tambo, Ahmed Adebowale Adedeji, Fang Huang, Jun-Hu Chen, Shui-Sen Zhou and Ling-Hua Tang
    Citation: Infectious Diseases of Poverty 2012 1:7
    Content type: Scoping Review Published on:

  4. The ecology of pathogens, and particularly their emergence in multi-host systems, is complex. New approaches are needed to reduce superficial complexities to a level that still allows scientists to analyse und...

    Authors: Alexandre Caron, Michel de Garine-Wichatitsky, Mduduzi Ndlovu and Graeme S Cumming
    Citation: Veterinary Research 2012 43:73
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Public health programmes recommend timely medical treatment for Buruli ulcer (BU) infection to prevent pre-ulcer conditions from progressing to ulcers, to minimise surgery, disabilities and the socio-economic ...

    Authors: Mercy M Ackumey, Margaret Gyapong, Matilda Pappoe, Cynthia Kwakye Maclean and Mitchell G Weiss
    Citation: Infectious Diseases of Poverty 2012 1:6
    Content type: Research Article Published on:

  6. Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of chronic parasitic diseases and related conditions that are the most common diseases among the 2·7 billion people globally living on less than US$2 per day. In ...

    Authors: Kebede Deribe, Kadu Meribo, Teshome Gebre, Asrat Hailu, Ahmed Ali, Abraham Aseffa and Gail Davey
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2012 5:240
    Content type: Review Published on:

  7. A guideline contains processes and procedures intended to guide health service delivery. However, the presence of guidelines may not guarantee their implementation, which may be a result of weaknesses in the d...

    Authors: Juliet Nabyonga Orem, Juliet Bataringaya Wavamunno, Solome K Bakeera and Bart Criel
    Citation: Implementation Science 2012 7:98
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. The Malanga sleeping sickness focus of the Democratic Republic of Congo has shown an epidemic evolution of disease during the last century. However, following case detection and treatment, the prevalence of th...

    Authors: Gustave Simo, Barberine Silatsa, Njiokou Flobert, Pascal Lutumba, Philemon Mansinsa, Joule Madinga, Emile Manzambi, Reginald De Deken and Tazoacha Asonganyi
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2012 5:201
    Content type: Research Published on:

  9. The implementation of collaborative TB/HIV activities may help to mitigate the impact of the dual epidemic on patients and communities. Such implementation requires integrated interventions across facilities a...

    Authors: Jeannine Uwimana, Christina Zarowsky, Harry Hausler and Debra Jackson
    Citation: BMC Health Services Research 2012 12:233
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  10. A pool of 38 pan-African Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in health innovation has been selected and recognized by the African Network for Drugs and Diagnostics Innovation (ANDI), through a competitive criteria ba...

    Authors: Solomon Nwaka, Alexander Ochem, Dominique Besson, Bernadette Ramirez, Foluke Fakorede, Sanaa Botros, Uford Inyang, Charles Mgone, Ivan Adae-Mensah, Victor Konde, Barthelemy Nyasse, Blessed Okole, Anastasia Guantai, Glaudina Loots, Peter Atadja, Peter Ndumbe…
    Citation: BMC International Health and Human Rights 2012 12:11
    Content type: Correspondence Published on:

  11. Information on the impact of available interventions that address adolescent substance use and delinquency can inform investment choices. This article aims to identify and evaluate early interventions that tar...

    Authors: Tara Carney and Bronwyn Myers
    Citation: Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy 2012 7:25
    Content type: Review Published on:

  12. We investigated the feasibility and appropriateness of enrolling controls for Burkitt lymphoma (BL) from local health facilities in two regions in Uganda.

    Authors: Sonya Baik, Mike Mbaziira, Makeda Williams, Martin D Ogwang, Tobias Kinyera, Benjamin Emmanuel, John L Ziegler, Steven J Reynolds and Sam M Mbulaiteye
    Citation: Infectious Agents and Cancer 2012 7:5
    Content type: Methodology Published on:

  13. Infection with the HIV and AIDS are leading causes of morbidity and mortality among women and children worldwide. Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programs were developed to protect wo...

    Authors: Frederick LI Morfaw, Lehana Thabane, Lawrence CE Mbuagbaw and Philip N Nana
    Citation: Systematic Reviews 2012 1:13
    Content type: Protocol Published on:

  14. Adenocarcinoma of the colon is the most common histopathological type of colorectal cancer. In Western Europe and the United States, it is the third most common type and accounts for 98% of cancers of the larg...

    Authors: Lynnette K Tumwine, Magid Kagimu, Ponsiano Ocama, Innocent Segamwenge, Noah Masiira-Mukasa, Dan Wamala, Otto Dworak and Christopher K Opio
    Citation: Journal of Medical Case Reports 2012 6:58
    Content type: Case report Published on:

  15. Pneumonia is a leading cause of children's deaths in developing countries and hinders achievement of the fourth Millennium Development Goal. This goal aims to reduce the under-five mortality rate, by two third...

    Authors: Maheswari G Srinivasan, Grace Ndeezi, Cordelia Katureebe Mboijana, Sarah Kiguli, Gabriel S Bimenya, Victoria Nankabirwa and James K Tumwine
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2012 10:14
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  18. Ethiopian people have been using traditional medicine since time immemorial with 80% of its population dependent on traditional medicines. However, the documentation of traditional healers' clinics contributio...

    Authors: Wubet Birhan, Mirutse Giday and Tilahun Teklehaymanot
    Citation: Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2011 7:39
    Content type: Research Published on:

  19. Many sub-Saharan countries are confronted with persistently high levels of infant mortality because of the impact of a range of biological and social determinants. In particular, infant mortality has increased...

    Authors: Benn KD Sartorius, Kurt Sartorius, Tobias F Chirwa and Sharon Fonn
    Citation: International Journal of Health Geographics 2011 10:61
    Content type: Research Published on:

  20. Herpes simplex type II (HSV-2) is a member of the family herpesviridae. Human infection with this double stranded linear DNA virus causes genital ulcerative disease and existing treatment options only serve to re...

    Authors: Misaki Wayengera
    Citation: Theoretical Biology and Medical Modelling 2011 8:23
    Content type: Research Published on:

  21. About 90% of all malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africa occur in children under five years. Fast and reliable diagnosis of malaria requires confirmation of the presence of malaria parasites in the blood of patie...

    Authors: Bernard Nkrumah, Samuel EK Acquah, Lukeman Ibrahim, Juergen May, Norbert Brattig, Egbert Tannich, Samuel Blay Nguah, Yaw Adu-Sarkodie and Frank Huenger
    Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2011 11:143
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  22. Obesity is assuming an epidemic dimension globally. It is important to appreciate factors associated with the disease so that a holistic approach can be taken in tackling the rising burden. The objective of th...

    Authors: Kolawole W Wahab, Mahmoud U Sani, Bashir O Yusuf, Maruf Gbadamosi, Akeem Gbadamosi and Mahmoud I Yandutse
    Citation: International Archives of Medicine 2011 4:10
    Content type: Original research Published on:

  23. Determining the position and order of contigs and scaffolds from a genome assembly within an organism's genome remains a technical challenge in a majority of sequencing projects. In order to exploit contempora...

    Authors: Jean-Marc Celton, Alan Christoffels, Daniel J Sargent, Xiangming Xu and D Jasper G Rees
    Citation: BMC Biology 2010 8:155
    Content type: Methodology article Published on:

  24. Inequities in the utilization of maternal health services impede progress towards the MDG 5 target of reducing the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015. In Namibia, despite increas...

    Authors: Eyob Zere, Prosper Tumusiime, Oladapo Walker, Joses Kirigia, Chris Mwikisa and Thomas Mbeeli
    Citation: International Journal for Equity in Health 2010 9:16
    Content type: Research Published on:

  25. Fibrous dysplasia has been regarded as a developmental skeletal disorder characterized by replacement of normal bone with benign cellular fibrous connective tissue. It has now become evident that fibrous dyspl...

    Authors: Liviu Feller, Neil H Wood, Razia AG Khammissa, Johan Lemmer and Erich J Raubenheimer
    Citation: Head & Face Medicine 2009 5:22
    Content type: Review Published on: