10/10/03

Africa’s medical maverick

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<h1>Africa’s medical maverick</h1>
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<p><P>Among the biggest frustrations facing scientists in poorer countries is their frequent exclusion from science publishing in the West. Many face difficulties in getting their work published in the big journals; and access to the journals, both print and electronic versions, can be well beyond their budgets.</P><br />
<P>In this article, Gavin Yamey tells the story of one man who had had enough. James Tumwine, associate professor of paediatrics at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, launched <em>African Health Sciences</em> two years ago, to resounding success. It is already indexed on Medline.</P><br />
<P>Tumwine is staying true to his democratic vision. The journal may be officially twinned with the <em>British Medical Journal</em>, but it is still sent largely to doctors in rural hospitals, and abstracts are freely available online. With Tumwine now chairing a new UN-led Forum for African Medical Editors, he could be kickstarting an African renaissance in medical publishing.</P><br />
<P><a href="http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/327/7419/832" target="_blank" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/tracking/external/'+this.href);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Link to full article in the </A><em><a href="http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/327/7419/832" target="_blank" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/tracking/external/'+this.href);" rel="noopener noreferrer">British Medical Journal</A> </em></P>Reference: <em>BMJ</em> 327, 832 (2003)</p>

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<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/features/africas-medical-maverick-ssa/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
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Among the biggest frustrations facing scientists in poorer countries is their frequent exclusion from science publishing in the West. Many face difficulties in getting their work published in the big journals; and access to the journals, both print and electronic versions, can be well beyond their budgets.

In this article, Gavin Yamey tells the story of one man who had had enough. James Tumwine, associate professor of paediatrics at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, launched African Health Sciences two years ago, to resounding success. It is already indexed on Medline.

Tumwine is staying true to his democratic vision. The journal may be officially twinned with the British Medical Journal, but it is still sent largely to doctors in rural hospitals, and abstracts are freely available online. With Tumwine now chairing a new UN-led Forum for African Medical Editors, he could be kickstarting an African renaissance in medical publishing.

Link to full article in the British Medical Journal

Reference: BMJ 327, 832 (2003)