Uganda: Can Africa Develop If Researchers Network? - AllAfrica.com

Jennifer Bakyawa

In December Republic Of Uganda will once again hit the newspaper headlines over another HIV/Aids stride-circumcision. Researchers in Republic Of Uganda and Republic Of Kenya affirmed that Circumcision of work force cut downs opportunities of human immunodeficiency virus infection as the prepuce of a phallus have cells that human immunodeficiency virus targets.

Last week, again men of science on the continent discovered that malaria and HIV/Aids co-fuel each other.

So much malaria research is going on in Africa. More is on HIV/Aids. But few if any research workers in Africa cognize most Oregon all probes being conducted in their country of specialty. Networking of men of science such as as what the Ugandan and Kenyan research workers did during the Circumcision survey guarantees maximal use of resources and speedy answering of the research question. Yet much as such as networking is vital, it is rare in Africa.

"If research workers network, it assists work resources wherever they are. Africa endures from understaffing, states Prof. Horatio Nelson Ssewankambo. "Some countries have got more than resources than others." Ssewankambo, the Dean of Checkup School, Makerere University, states networking of research workers would minimise wastage and unneeded duplication. Networking is practicable and necessary in research, especially on issues of shared involvements and concerns.

For months, usage of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane against mosquitoes is still topical in Kenya, United Republic Of Tanzania and Uganda. If the three states networked on this issue, they would acquire information from a wider perspective. This would assist inform individual country's policies, states Ssewankambo.

Networking additions opportunities of gaining a larger sample size, especially in explores which affect respective countries. A large and varied sample assists make an impact as was the lawsuit with the Circumcision survey where 8,000 males participated, according to mass media reports.

Such coaction should happen at job identification, designing the study, execution and in post- research activities such as as incorporating consequences into policy. This way, research workers lend different expertness and ain the results.

Networking would not only profit research workers but the countries' ministries of wellness too.

With respective groupings researching, the identified job would be addressed faster. In addition, the groupings will have got got their resources maximised than when working individually.

Research webs could function as "independent" think-tanks to which ministries of wellness and authorities can turn for thoughts and solutions to public wellness jobs and programmes.

The US' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Checkup Research Council in the United Kingdom have for respective decennaries networked with research workers to better wellness of their populations. Both arrangements are funded by their several governments.

Without networking, immature research workers are rarely known. They have got no clear avenue for calling advancement, which often frustrates them. Hence migrating to developed states just like their medical counterparts. Says Mister Alexanders Campbell: "The state of African research workers is that they are not supported by the system. It is hard for them to apportion clip for a network. When people exchange research results, it haps out of individual efforts."

Campbell is a coordinator of Research Matters. According to a World Health Arrangement 2006 study on human resources for health, more than than 300 medical docs left Republic Of Uganda to work abroad where there is better pay.

In fortune where there are scarce resources, a web of specialised people can lend to a critical mass needed to excite creativeness and peer-review.

Says Dr Jack Ngulube: "It is indispensable for research workers to web to supply equal reappraisal and on-going mentoring. Such coactions aid beef up researchers' work and foregrounds issues which sometimes make not look pressing to human development." Ngulube works with the Centre for Health Science and Sociable Research in Zambia.

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An confederation of research workers in the South can advocator for support research in certain countries which funders and policy shapers paying small attending on. Today, much concentrate on HIV/Aids is aslant towards drugs. However, in improver to a medical solution, sociological attacks such as as behavior alteration that is of import in human immunodeficiency virus spreading and treatment should be considered.

For instance, most infections such as sleeping sickness, malaria, malnutrition and maternal mortality are not rampant in developed nations, thus they acquire less attending for research. If research workers in Africa web it would progress the wellness research agenda, states Ssewankambo.

The author is a coordinator of the Republic Of Uganda Communication Program on Health Research, a joint undertaking between Makerere University School of Populace Health and Council for Health Research for Development