Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
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To describe and analyse research output from surveyed national health research institutions in Africa. ⋯ The research output of health research institutions in the Region is significant, but more effort is needed to strengthen research capacity, including human and financial resources.
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To estimate the sources of funds for health research (revenue) and the uses of these funds (expenditure). ⋯ Research on major health problems of the Region, such as communicable diseases, accounts for most of the research expenditures. However, the total expenditure is very low compared with other WHO regions.
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To identify key data sources of health information and describe their availability in countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region. ⋯ A multitude of data sources are used to track progress towards health-related goals in the Region, with heavy reliance on household surveys for most indicators. Countries need to develop comprehensive national plans for health information that address the full range of data needs and data sources and that include provision for building national capacities for data generation, analysis, dissemination and use.
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To describe the current status of institutional facilities and the supporting research infrastructure of surveyed health research institutions in Africa, including information on communication technologies and connectivity, library resources, and laboratory operations and resources. ⋯ Health research institutions in the Region have insufficient access to essential facilities such as laboratories, libraries, computers and the Internet to generate, access and share information.
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To describe the status of health information systems in 14 sub-Saharan African countries of the World Health Organization African Region. ⋯ National health information systems are weak in the surveyed countries and much more needs to be done to improve the quality and relevance of data, and their management, sharing and use for policy-making and decision-making.