Networking and capacity building for health research in Central Africa

Ntoumi, Francine

doi:10.1007/s00508-010-1331-3

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Long-term training and appropriate mentorships are essential, especially in Congo, where there is an acute shortage of human resources in all disciplines [11]. …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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EDCTP regional networks of excellence: initial merits for planned clinical trials in Africa

et al. 2013

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BackgroundAchieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and combating hotspots with escalating but preventable communicable diseases remain major challenges in Africa. The European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) intervened to combat poverty-related diseases including malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, and to conduct multi-centre clinical trials and multi-disciplinary health research through an innovative model of regional Networks of Excellence (NoEs).MethodsWe participated in a quasi-formative evaluation between October and December 2011 on the 4 regional-led research networks. These included the: Central Africa Network on Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and Malaria (CANTAM); East African Consortium for Clinical Research (EACCR); West African Network of Excellence for TB, AIDS and Malaria (WANETAM), and the Trials of Excellence for Southern Africa (TESA) launched between 2009 and 2010. We shared a participatory appraisal of field reports, progress reports and presentations from each network to jointly outline the initial experiences of the merits, outputs and lessons learnt.ResultsThe self-regulating democratic networks, with 64 institutions in 21 African countries, have trained over 1, 000 African scientists, upgraded 36 sites for clinical trials, leveraged additional € 24 million and generated 38 peer-reviewed publications through networking and partnerships.ConclusionsThe shared initial merits and lessons learnt portray in part the strengthened capacity of these networks for improved research coordination and conduct of planned multi-center clinical trials in Africa. Increased funding by African agencies, governments and international health partners will ensure sustainability of these networks for research capacity development and demonstrate their commitment to achieving the MDGs in Africa.

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“…Long-term training and appropriate mentorships are essential, especially in Congo, where there is an acute shortage of human resources in all disciplines [11]. …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Publications from CANTAM are increasing its visibility [11,12]. In Congo, Cameroon, and very recently in Gabon, EDCTP site visits were excellent opportunities for high-level advocacy and resource mobilization among prime ministers, ministers of higher education and of public health from each country.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

EDCTP regional networks of excellence: initial merits for planned clinical trials in Africa

et al. 2013

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“…One of the main strategies adopted over the period has been the teaming up of institutions to implement these programmes 6 10. Though such groupings refer to themselves by various names such as partnership, consortium, and network,11–13 we will use the term ‘consortium’ in this paper.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing health research capacity strengthening consortia: a systematised review of the published literature

et al. 2019

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BackgroundLocally relevant research is considered critical for advancing health and development in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Accordingly, health research capacity strengthening (HRCS) efforts have intensified, increasingly through consortia. Yet, the knowledge base for managing such consortia is not well defined. This review aimed to ascertain the scope and quality of published literature on HRCS consortium management processes, management-related factors influencing consortium operations and outcomes, and the knowledge gaps.MethodsGiven the paucity of published HRCS literature, a ‘systematised review’ as outlined by Grant and Booth was conducted, modelling the systematic review process without restriction to research-based publications. A systematic search in PubMed and Scopus was carried out coupled with a manual search for papers using reference checking and citation searching. A quality appraisal of eligible articles using the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool was undertaken. Thematic synthesis was used to analyse the extracted data.ResultsThe search identified 55 papers, made up of 18 empirical papers and 37 commentaries focusing on consortium-based HRCS initiatives involving LMICs and reporting management-related data. The review indicates increasing efforts being made in the HRCS field in reporting consortia outcomes. However, it highlights the dearth of high-quality empirical research on HRCS consortium management and the nascent nature of the field with most papers published after 2010. The available literature highlights the importance of relational management factors such as equity and power relations in influencing consortium success, though these factors were not explored in depth. Operational management processes and their role in the capacity strengthening pathway were rarely examined.ConclusionFindings indicate a weak evidence base for HRCS consortium management both in terms of quantity and conceptual depth, demonstrating the need for an expanded research effort to inform HRCS practice.

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“…Yet, many African governments do not possess the resources for these activities without international collaborators (4–5). Thus, international training programs have been implemented by institutions in the global North to contribute to the development of African research leadership in several fields including social science, clinical epidemiology and biomedical research (6–14). The focus here is on one training program implemented by US higher education institutions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Right from primary school, I liked science: understanding health research capacity building in sub-Saharan Africa through Kenyan training experiences

2014

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Defining research career paths that enable Africans to address local and global health issues is essential for population health. This study was conducted to better understand how international health training programs contribute to human resource capacity building in health research. Research career motivations, decision-making and experiences were explored among a small group of Kenyan HIV/AIDS researchers who had completed an international training program. We found that intersecting social dynamics within specific geographic spaces influenced individual training decision-making and motivated research career decisions over time. The concept that 'geo-social motivation' is an important determinant of success for an African considering a research career developed from this study, and may be used to tailor future health research human resource capacity-building programs.

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Networking and capacity building for health research in Central Africa

Cited by 7 publications

References 7 publications

EDCTP regional networks of excellence: initial merits for planned clinical trials in Africa

EDCTP regional networks of excellence: initial merits for planned clinical trials in Africa

Managing health research capacity strengthening consortia: a systematised review of the published literature

Right from primary school, I liked science: understanding health research capacity building in sub-Saharan Africa through Kenyan training experiences

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