Research4Life helps Kenya Make Strides in Science and Health Care
As developing nations strive to raise their standard of living, it’s crucial that their researchers, medical practitioners and students are able to access up-to-date information. To help them benefit from the latest developments in science, technology and medicine, Research4Life provides free or very low-cost scientific information in 114 developing countries.
For Professor Paul Kimurto at Egerton University in Nairobi, Kenya, Research4Life has meant being able to pick drought-tolerant crops to help farmers increase crop production. For Lawrence Wanyama, head librarian at JKUAT in Nairobi, it has meant being able to deliver the most current research to teachers and graduate students. For Dr. John Weru at the Nairobi Hospice, it has meant being able to give the very best palliative care to his cancer patients.
Research4Life encompasses three public–private partnerships that support the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals for sustainable improvements in agriculture, environmental management and health: Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI), Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA) and Online Access to Research in the Environment (OARE). Elsevier is a founding partner in these three programs, together with UN agencies, universities, technology providers and other STM publishers.
Dramatic increase in research output
A recent Elsevier study reveals up to a 194 percent increase in the number of articles published in peer-reviewed journals by scientists in the developing world since 2002, when Research4Life was introduced.
“These statistics point to Research4Life’s profound impact on institutions and individual researchers’ ability to publish,” said Dr. Andrew Plume, Elsevier’s Associate Director of Scientometrics & Market Analysis, who conducted the analysis.
He added that while the growth is probably the result of many related factors, such as scientific policy, government and private research funding and other global developments, “such a dramatic increase in research output also reflects a clear correlation with the launch of the Research4Life programs.” The Research4Life partners are reaching more researchers every year and are committed to continuing the programs until at least 2015.
For more information, visit www.research4life.org
