Building health research in Africa
Even though the developed world has provided aid to troubled countries, the African continent continues to experience health and economic problems. The EU-funded AFRICA BUILD (Building a research and education infrastructure for Africa) consortium built a portal for online health learning and knowledge sharing in Africa, as well as supporting infrastructure. Other project objectives were to develop a roadmap for African health research and promote African researcher participation in global meetings. AFRICA BUILD created the Africa Build Portal using open source software and technologies, including additional software add-ons built by African partners. The portal is available in English, French and Arabic, and includes a mobile version for improved accessibility. Via the portal, AFRICA BUILD launched several courses on HIV/AIDS and reproductive health as a pilot learning programme. The consortium has also established a panel of experts from Africa, Europe and the United States to provide advice on health learning and capacity building. Finally, project partners worked together to create an AFRICA BUILD roadmap covering current African e-health initiatives and recommendations for future efforts. Having agreed to carry the work on past the end of the project, AFRICA BUILD partners are ensuring a brighter future for African health research.
Keywords
Health research, Africa, online portal, education, training, knowledge sharing
