CSE News

CSE Helps Manage Partnerships to Enhance African Journals Tanya Nading To help increase the quality and vis- ibility of sub-Saharan African journals, the Council of Science Editors is manag- ing the logistics of a pilot project that ERSPECTIVES pairs those journals with journals in the P Northern Hemisphere. The Council’s duties include the allocation of funds EALTH H from a $169,000 grant issued by three components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH): the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the Fogarty NVIRONMENTAL

International Center, and the National /E Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). REENWELL

Discussions on the pilot project began G in September 2003 with a planning meet- ing held in London. Representatives RNOLD A BY of the partner journals and the Fogarty International Center, NLM, and NIEHS HOTO attended. The meeting was hosted by the P BMJ. Siaka Sidibe, of Mali Medicale, at Environmental Health Perspectives The project pairs editors of African and Northern Hemisphere journals, as facility, and infrastructure needs; pro- two-way communication between the follows: viding hardware; training authors and Northern and Southern Hemispheres.” • James Tumwine, editor of African Health reviewers; establishing business plans for Annette Flanagin, managing deputy Sciences, with Gulio Bognolo and Sara African journals; providing financial sup- editor of JAMA, said, “We hope to help Schroter, of the BMJ. port for the project; supporting online our partner, Malawi Medical Journal, • David Ofori-Adjei, editor of the Ghana publication of African journals; and become more visible as the major medical Medical Journal, with Sarah Ramsay and establishing internships for representa- journal for Malawi.” She also said that Faith McLellan, of . tives of African medical journals at the she hopes that the partnership will make • Adamson Muula, associate editor of Northern Hemisphere journal offices. JAMA a more global journal by broaden- Malawi Medical Journal, with Annette “The pilot project will assist the ing its editorial interests and priorities. Flanagin, of the Journal of the American African journals in improving their The partnerships will be a 3-year project, Medical Association (JAMA). quality and content via improved equip- and the endeavor will expand to include • Siaka Sidibe, editor of Mali Medicale, with ment, access to experienced reviewers, journals in other regions of the world. Mary Northridge, of the American Journal mentoring relationships with designated The project is ending its first year in of Public Health, and Thomas Goehl, of Northern Hemisphere medical journals, May 2005. As of early 2005, several tasks Environmental Health Perspectives. and future training and capacity-build- had been completed, including complet- The project’s overall goal is to help the ing workshops to enhance and improve ing journal assessments (for example, African journals reach a level at which editorial expertise, journal content, regarding size of journal and editorial they can be accepted for indexing in and publishing practices”, said partici- quality) and technical assessments of the MEDLINE. pant Thomas Goehl, editor-in-chief of journal equipment, software, and train- Working together, the partners have Environmental Health Perspectives, which is ing needs for two of the four journals. developed a list of objectives, which working with Mali Medicale. “I hope that Siaka Sidibe visited the Washington, DC, include identifying editorial, equipment, the collaboration will result in improved offices of Environmental Health Perspectives

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and the American Journal of Public Health Ofori-Adjei, editor of the Ghana tries that have NIH-sponsored research in September 2004, and Adamson Muula Medical Journal, hopes through the pro- and are part of the communication visited the Chicago JAMA offices in gram to improve the visibility and use of network developed by the NLM for the December 2004. When this article went his journal: “I want to make it relevant Multilateral Initiative on Malaria. Some to press, plans for one or more represen- to its constituency, using the experience of the African medical journals have had tatives of to visit and opportunity to help other African low distribution rates, making research BMJ were under way. journals.” in areas in which malaria is endemic While visiting JAMA, Muula met Providing an attractive local journal unavailable to local colleagues and the with the editorial and publishing staff for dissemination of research is vitally international scientific community. With and participated in a manuscript-review important to the people of Africa, Goehl less than one-third of the 66 medical meeting. Muula wants the Malawi Medical said. “These regional journals are the key journals in Africa publishing regularly, Journal to be a high-quality journal that to getting the latest health-care informa- the journals have little or no representa- is published regularly. “We have joined tion to people who need the information tion in international indexing services. the group of the world’s prestigious jour- most.” Goehl said that the benefits of All four African journal editors have nals”, he said. Although his meeting with such a partnership include the bonds of received CSE membership and were JAMA representatives was productive, friendships and understanding that form invited to participate in the 2005 CSE Muula said that it was less than ideal in between the participants. “These are annual meeting. one respect: “Chicago was too cold for bonds that can be forged only by direct me. I like it like Adelaide or Perth, in interactions.” TANYA NADING was an intern at Science Australia, boiling hot like hell.” The African journals are in coun- Editor when she prepared this piece. Who’s New in CSE Joyce J Dolbier Joyce A Generali Kimberly Thigpen Tart Douglas A Wilcox University of Florida Kansas University National Institute of Society of Wetland Scientists IFAS Communication Services 4905 W 132nd St Environmental Health 1451 Green Rd 118C Newins-Zieglar Hall Shawnee Mission KS 66209- Sciences Ann Arbor MI 48105-2807 PO Box 11041 3468 Environmental Health (734) 214-7256 Gainesville FL 32611 (913) 588-2303 Perspectives (734) 994-8780 (352) 846-0926 (913) 588-8840 fax PO Box 12233, MD EC-15 [email protected] (352) 392-1707 fax [email protected] Research Triangle Park NC [email protected] 27709 Paula Zimlicki Stephen Tabachnick (919) 541-5377 Woman’s Hospital Rollin M Gallagher American Association for (919) 541-0273 fax 9050 Airline Hwy University of Pennsylvania Laboratory Animal Science [email protected] PO Box 95009 School of Medicine 9190 Crestwyn Hills Dr Baton Rouge LA 70895 1129 Rock Creek Rd Memphis TN 38125 Wolfram Wiegers (225) 231-5549 ext 3523 Gladwyne PA 19035-1439 (901) 754-8620 Georg Thieme Verlag KG (225) 922-3387 fax (215) 823-5800 ext 3399 (901) 753-0046 fax Ruedigerstr 14 [email protected] (215) 823-4256 fax [email protected] Stuttgart D-70469 Germany [email protected] (49) 0711-8 93 11 71 (49) 0711-8 93 11 71 Lori Gardner [email protected] Society of American Foresters 5400 Grosvenor Ln Bethesda MD 20814-2161 (301) 897-8720 ext 110 (301) 897-3690 fax [email protected]

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