Meeting report
UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research & Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR)
Report of the
First Meeting of the Forum for African Medical Editors
Steering Committee
Mombasa, Kenya April 22-24, 2003
TDR/FAME
First Meeting of the Forum for African Medical Editors
Steering Committee
Mombasa, Kenya, 22-24 April 2003
TDR/RCS/FAME/03.2
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Layout: Jocelyne Bruyère
FORUM FOR AFRICAN MEDICAL EDITORS Mombasa,22-24 April 2003
T ABLE OF CONTENTS
List of participants . . . .1
Agenda for FAME Steering Committee . . . .3
Introduction to facilitation and participatory techniques . . . .4
Reasons for establishing FAME: Review of the Geneva meeting, 0ct. 2002 . . . .6
Problems faced by African medical journals: a FAME statement . . . .8
Development of proposals . . . .10
Proposal 1 . . . .10
Proposal 2 . . . .11
Proposal 3 . . . .13
Proposal 4 . . . .16
Proposal 5 . . . .18
Expert witnesses session . . . .22
Evaluation of the meeting by FAME members . . . .26
Annex: Forum of African Medical Editors: Constitution . . . .27
Participants (80% attendance)
Professor James Tumwine Chair of FAME Steering Committee Editor, African Health Sciences Makerere University, Uganda E-mail: [email protected] Professor Davy Koech
Editor, African Journal of Health Sciences Secretary FAME,
KEMRI
P. O. Box 54840,Nairobi, Kenya Tel. No. 722541
E-mail: [email protected] Dr Rassul Nala
Editor, Revista Medica de Mozambique Mozambique
E-mail: [email protected] Dr Benedita Fernandes
Editor, Revista Medica de Mozambique MOH
Mozambique
E-mail: [email protected] Dr Fabio Zicker
Coordinator
Research and Capacity Strengthening TDR
Geneva,Switzerland E-mail: [email protected]
List of participants
Professor Sileshi Lulseged Editor, Ethiopian Medical Journal Addis Ababa University
Ethiopia
E-mail:[email protected] Ms Nancy Kamau
SPL,KEMRI P.O. Box 54840 Nairobi, Kenya
E-mail: [email protected] Professor Siaka Sidibe
Editor, Mali Médical Mali University
E-mail:[email protected] Ms Edith Certain
Project Manager, WHO/TDR Geneva,Switzerland E-mail:[email protected]
Observers
Dr Daniel J.Ncayiyana Editor
South African Medical Journal Durban
E-mail:[email protected]
Dr Fidelis Morfaw Chief of Publications WHO-AFRO, Congo
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr J. N. Kariuki C.A.O. (R & D), KEMRI P. O. Box 54840,Nairobi E-mail: [email protected]
Cole P. Dodge Facilitator
Box 63115,Nairobi, Kenya E-mail: [email protected]
Absent with apologies
Secretariat
Professor D. Ofori-Adjei Editor
Ghana Medical Journal, Ghana E-mail:[email protected]
Priscilla B. Maosa Secretary
KEMRI, Nairobi, Kenya E-mail:[email protected]
Tuesday
• Welcome by the Chair, Professor James Tumwine
• Introduction of participants
• Administration and finance announcements
• Introduction to facilitation and participatory techniques
• The reasons why FAME was established, review of the first meeting held in Geneva in Oct.2002
• Expectations and outcomes of this meeting
• Problem and opportunity identification for the Forum for African Medical Editors
Wednesday
• Legal Issues,Presentation by Dr Davy Koech, Secretary of FAME
• Draft constitution
• Finalization of Group Work especially the problem statement
• Identification and prioritization of activities which FAME can undertake
Thursday
• Development of the FAME work plan
• Agree on the timeframe for FAME through 2003 and into early 2004
• Next Steps in terms of who will do what for FAME
• Evaluation of the workshop
• Programme for the Addis Ababa conference in September and October 2003
Agenda for FAME Steering Committee
Background to participatory planning
Paulo Feire developed his approach of conscientization in Brazil through extensive use of ques- tions. Through questions he was able to raise the awareness of people, communities and society concerning poverty, social stratification and exploitation.
Orlando Fals Borda further developed participatory planning through use of experiential learning in Columbia. He recognized that actually “doing” through participation was the best way for peo- ple to learn.
Eberhard Schenelle led a group in Germany that became known as the Quick-born Team involv- ing visualization in the process of planning. Visualization and participation were found to be effec- tive in team building in the planning process.
Neil Mckee adapted this into Visualization In Participatory Programs in Bangladesh which was espe- cially effective in bringing various groups together in a planning and implementation process e.g.
government officials, ordinary villagers, NGO and political leaders were effectively able to work together through VIPP without hierarchy.
Cole Dodge and a team working at Makerere University in Uganda developed an approach for aca- demics termed Participatory Question Based Planning, where the emphasis was on the questions.
However at the heart of all participatory planning processes is the understanding from the field of psychology, which studied learning and memory. Important is how we learn and what we remember.
How we learn
• 1% through taste
• 2% through touch
• 3% through smell
• 11% through hearing
• 83% through sight
Introduction to facilitation and participatory techniques
What we remember
• 10% of what we read
• 20% of what we hear
• 30% of what we see
• 50% of what we see and hear
• 80% of what we say
• 90% of what we say and do.
Ms Nancy Kamau,Librarian KEMRI Ms P. Maosa,KEMRI
There are rules for the use of cards and boards. These are basic and simple, but important as the collection of ideas from participants strives on ideas from individuals and transition them into own- ership by the group. Therefore, everyone needs to write in the same way, with the same color cards and the same color marker pens so that no one can distinguish who has contributed any par- ticular card (idea).
Rules for card writing
• Every participant is a resource person
• Capital and lower case
• Two lines per card
• Large letters
• One idea per card
• Follow color code
• Key words not sentences
• Everyone helps out
Why VIPP and PQBP?
• Every idea counts
• Concepts/ideas easily managed
• Participants remember
• Incremental plan emerges.
• Group ownership
• Report is visualized immediately
• Team developed.
The substantial session began with a review of the meeting held in Geneva in October 2002 with a question format.
Why did you establish FAME?
The card collection generated 38 cards which were clustered into the following:
• For strengthening African Medical Journals
• To establish meaningful networks to improve African Medical Journals
• To mobilize capacity building resources for FAME
• For the improvement through improved and expanded dissemination of African Medical Journals e.g. circulation
• For visibility of recognition of FAME as a high quality African Medical Journal initiative
• For promotion and dissemination of research within and about Africa to improve treatment and health service deliver y
• To promote African Medical Journals
• Improve Health and Medical Journals in Africa through formatting, editing,peer review and in terms of the quality of the articles submitted for publication
• Capacity building of FAME which will in turn assist national and regional journals
Participants wrote out two to four cards each and these were sorted and clustered into the fol- lowing categories
Reasons for establishing FAME:
Review of the Geneva meeting, 0ct. 2002
Dr F. Zicker,TDR/RCS Coordinator
What are your expectations for “outcomes” of this meeting?
• Develop a work-plan for FAME
• Strengthen the membership and leadership
• Established legal status
• Develop a plan or proposal to develop editorial guidelines to improve the quality of African Medical Journals
• Identify effective strategies for networking among FAME members
What are the ways in which you can meet these expectations?
Again every participant wrote out their cards and clustered them on a board resulting in every idea falling under these headings
• Training in editing,desktop publishing and marketing
• Writing and publishing of a brochure or prospectus on FAME
• Hire a consultant to write projects proposals for presentation to donor partners
• Promotion and marketing of African Medical Journals which will include cost reco very while assuring widespread dissemination
• “Twinning” of medical journals from the north with southern journals as suggested at the first meeting in October 2002 which brought together both groups
• Desktop publishing training on layout and format to improve the quality and web publishing compatibility and potential of all FAME journals
• Advocacy with African journalists promoting medical sciences research through workshops bringing together FAME editors with popular newspaper reporters
• Writing workshops for young researchers
• Young researchers scientific conference
• Young authors award for original published research Professor James Tumwine, Chair of FAME
The steering committee then broke up into smaller working groups and tackled the task of devel- oping the ideas generated by the plenary session into comprehensive plans.
A problem statement on Medical Journal Editors and Medical Journals in the context of Continuing Medical Education was drafted by a group: Sidibe Siaka, W. Lore and Sileshi Lulseged
Doctors and other health professionals in Africa cope with larger patient load, have to handle wider scope of diseases, deal with greater disease burden than those in industrialized countries.
They have access to the smallest budget in the world and often have less support with basic resources for diagnosis and care.They have limited access to up-to-date technology, including inter- net services.They lack interaction and synergy with other professionals and have largely no sub- scriptions to medical journals.This is compounded by local and international research institutes which encourage publication in northern journals. Indeed a survey conducted on publications derived from TDR research grants made between 1996 and 1999 has shown that most of them were published in northern journals which are beyond the reach of health workers in these set- tings.Thus,local journals in Africa should play greater role in continuing medical education and yet the journals face greater obstacles than in industrialized countries.
Most medical journals in Africa are produced by academic institutions or professional associations with limited financial resources against a background of economic recession and high costs for essential materials. Journal production depends on voluntary, honorary and part-time contributions from professionals with inadequate technical training background. Technical skills of editors need to be upgraded in most settings. In general, manuscript reviewers are limited in number and the required technical capacity is largely lacking.Many are non-compliant with journal guidelines,some have conflict of interest, others lack confidentiality and the ability for safe custody of manuscripts, and yet others lack objectivity. Moreover, there is lack remuneration and academic or profession- al recognition for reviewers’ input,which are all de-motivating practices.
The quality and variety of published articles in Africa lack proper balance between original research and review of available evidence. Authors lack proper orientation and perception on the interna- tional rating of medical articles published in local journals vis a vis those published abroad.The dis-
Problems faced by African medical journals:
a FAME statement
A first group developed a statement on problems faced by African med- ical journals
tribution of published journals is limited, reducing access to local research outputs.Access by those working in rural setting who also have little opportunity for continuing medical education through other channels,is especially limited. Production costs for journals are high in most African settings and income from advertisements and subscriptions is not increasing, commensurate with rising costs of production.Hence there is a need to revisit promotion and marketing strategies for jour- nals published in Africa as a vehicle for continuing medical education in the region.
Networking among different journals in the continent is non-existent, making continued medical education difficult. Moreover, ethical considerations in research settings and dissemination of research output have not been given enough attention. Many researchers and authors lack the knowledge required to address ethical issues and are rarely oriented or supported by their respec- tive institutions to give adequate attention to ethics in biomedical research.
A second group comprised of: J.N.Kariuki,Edith Certain and Benedita Fernandes worked on the issue of developing effective networks for FAME.
Proposal 1:
Enhancement and networking between Medical Journals in Africa
• Most African Medical Editors work in isolation at the national level and do not network region- ally or internationally.
• Inadequate mechanisms of collaboration between health research institutions and universities
• Communication barriers revolve around languages e.g.English,French and Portuguese and poor ICT facilities
Mechanisms for networking
Exchange of information between editors
• FAME electronic discussion list (Editors can share experiences) - E-mail:[email protected]
• Website for FAME for Editorial resources and hosting of journal websites.
• Personal exchange between editors.
• Telephone conferences and video conferences
• Symposia during international meetings.
Collaboration between journals, research institutions/universities
• Exchange of journals among libraries
• Guest editorials among FAME affiliated journals.
Networking at regional and international levels
• Publishing selected articles from AMJs in regional and international peer-reviewed journals.
• Twinning with other health journals Requirements
- Human resources
- Webmaster and moderator - Trainers
- Staff - Equipment:
- Server with internet facilities
Development of proposals
- Video facilities for conferencing
Expected Outcomes
• Sharing of editorial resources between editors from African journals.
• Improved editorial practice.
• Improving of access to African Medical journals through on-line publishing.
• Establish FAME leadership in African Medical publishing
Proposal 2:
Establishing and supporting FAME through institutional capacity support
A third group worked on the issues of institutional formation and capacity building for FAME.
Members of the group were James Tumwine, Nancy Kamau and Rassul Nala.
Background
FAME (Forum for African Medical Editors)was established through a consultative process initiated by TDR (Tropical Disease Research and Training), with an office based at WHO Geneva, whose membership consists of the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program and the World Health Organization. TDR recognized that there were special circumstances facing Africa that were unique and therefore deserved special attention. TDR gave support to the pre- liminary and pilot phases of FAME through the following activities.
Preliminary founding phase–Geneva
African Medial Editors met with a group of experts and advisors in Geneva in October, 2002 in a meeting organized and supported by TDR. They reviewed and deliberated on the challenges facing medical publishing and continuing medical education in Africa. At the end of the meeting they resolved to establish the Forum for African Medical Editors (FAME). A steering committee was set up. The FAME members mandated the steering committee to develop a work plan, draft constitu- tion and organize a general meeting by October, 2003. Members of the Steering Committee were:
Professor James Tumwine, Chair of FAME Steering Committee, Uganda Professor Davy Koech, Secretary, KEMRI, Kenya
Dr Rassul Nala,Mozambique
Professor Sileshi Lulseged,Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia Professor Sidibe Siaka,Mali University, Mali
Dr Daniel J. Ncayiyana, Editor, South African Medical Journal, Durban, South Africa Dr Fidelis Morfaw, Chief of publications,WHO-AFRO, Congo
Planning phase meeting was held in Mombasa in April 2003
Having deliberated on the issues, and consulted widely, the steering committee assisted by TDR organized a planning meeting in Mombasa, Kenya, from 22 – 24 April, 2003.
The meeting was attended by members from Uganda, Mozambique, Kenya, Mali, and Geneva (TDR). The work planning meeting was participatory, enabling all members to contribute their ideas to the establishment of FAME. A professional facilitator who has been working with institu- tional transformation of the Faculty of Medicine in Uganda and educated in the field of public health (MScPH) facilitated the meeting. The outcome of the meeting includes this report consist- ing of proposals,a workplan,and a draft constitution. It further develops the agenda for the FAME general funding meeting to be held in Addis Ababa in September 29 to 3 October 2003.
Goals of the Forum for African Medical Editors
• Strengthening the Forum for African Medical Journals through improved quality of publications, greater circulation,on-line publishing and more relevant articles.
• Establishing an effective network of African Medical Editors through improved interaction.
• Increasing visibility and recognition of African Medical Journals through enhanced quality, rele- vance and availability.
• Promoting timely dissemination of research results in Africa
• Supporting continuing medical education through publication and distribution of medical jour- nals which are more widely distributed.
Proposal for supporting governance of FAME
In order to ensure good governance FAME has adopted a constitution which promotes trans- parency and accountability. To implement,grant support is required in the following areas.
Meetings and consultations
FAME will ensure election of its leaders through regular and frequent meetings and consultation throughout the year. Financial support is sought for communications and meetings.According to the constitution,meetings are conducted in various ways:
Prof.J. Tumwine and Dr Davy Koech
• Through e-mail and internet
• Through telephone consultations
• Through meetings inside of other larger conferences and
• Through meetings which are dedicated to improving the quality, relevance and availability of African medical journals to promote research,scholarship and information about diagnosis, treatment and management of health care as well as health service delivery systems.
• Through FAME training of young academic researchers, editors and peer reviewers, to equip them with analytical, writing as well as editorial skills so that we establish a critical mass of people from which will emerge authors, reviewers and editors.
Communication
For efficient communication amongst FAME members Internet connectivity is essential. The sec- retariat and members will be supported to get this connectivity. Regular communication amongst executive members will be ensured through
• E-mail communication on an interactive basis
• Telephone–conferencing which are more cost effective than air travel.
• Meetings within conferences
• Training sessions mounted regionally, sub-regionally and nationally
Proposal 3:
“Training” to improve research, quality of medical journals and con- tinuing medical education for health professionals.
Training activities proposed
• Training of medical editors, reviewers and young researchers
• Facilitated planning process to identify problems,opportunities and strategies to increase the circulation and accessibility of African medical and health journals
• Improving the quality of journals thanks to desktop publishing, layout and graphics through training of editors and production personnel of FAME members journals
• Conduct facilitated human resource development in the area of resource mobilization for FAME and member journals of FAME. (The understanding here is that this in volves training, team development, improved management and improved capacities for planning, monitoring and evaluation as well as business plans and commercial management capabilities).
• Publication of / and training in Peer Review Guidelines, Editorial Guidelines and Guidelines for Authors for FAME member journals for their health and medical publications.
Training of Medical Journal Reviewers, Editors and Young Researchers
(This write up focuses on medical journal reviewers but is similar to training for the other two categories as well).
Reviewers play an important role in maintaining quality of articles published in medical journals.It is not possible for a single journal editor to be an expert in all areas of specialties of the articles they published. The medical journal editor therefore needs the assistance of the reviewers to objectively advice on the suitability of the manuscript according to their specialties and using the guidelines provided by the editor. Experience has shown that many journals in Africa lack sufficient numbers of reviewers. Many reviewers are not compliant with the journal guidelines for review- ing manuscripts being considered for publication; some have conflict of interest, other lack confi- dentiality and ability for safe custody for manuscripts, and yet others lack objectivity. There is therefore a need to train research reviewers in order to address this unfavorable situation.
Goal of the training
The overall goal of this activity is to create a pool of well trained reviewers who understand their role in maintaining high standard of articles published in medical journals and adopt a profession- al character in the articles that they review.
Methodology for preparing training materials
Specific Objectives
To create a sufficient number of medical and health reviewers to efficiently manage a health or medical journal at the national level.
To provide the reviewers with the necessary background, techniques, framework, knowledge and skills for competently reviewing manuscripts for publication.
Development of guidelines for
training materials for FAME
Training site
In African countries, experience has shown that when a training courses for health professionals is organized in the place of their residence and work, their attendance at such meetings is inter- rupted by calls requiring them to attend to patients or other work responsibilities. Therefore it is suggested that FAME training course be conducted away from the majority of participants nor- mal place of employment.
Timing of the training
It is suggested that this training be conducted in the period when Universities are on break to ensure that academics are available to attend at other suitable times.
Participants
The editors and his/her assistants will identify already existing reviewers and potential reviewers according to agreed criteria. It is suggested that each training course be conducted for a maxi- mum of 25 reviewers through participatory techniques which will ensure greater retention, greater participation and most importantly much higher levels of retention.
Expected Outcome At the end of this training
• The reviewers will be trained, motivated and given the FAME Guidelines
• The reviewers will be provided with knowledge and skills necessary to implement FAME Guidelines on reviewing manuscripts
Budget
Facilitators and trainers
• Air travel
• Facilitators fees
• Accommodation and food
• Local travel Participants
• Travel
• Out of pocket allowance
• Accommodation and food Other budget lines
• Course materials including audio visuals as well as FAME certificate
• Stationery
Execution of training course
This activity will be initiated/executed by a Chair and Secretary of FAME through a professional facilitator-trainer who will be assisted by one or more of the Editors of FAME.
Proposal 4:
Development of FAME Annual Awards Scheme to create motivation among African academics and journals.
Group comprised of:Edith Certain, Sileshi Lulseged and Nancy Kaumau
In order to improve on the quality of public health and medical journals in Africa, FAME proposes to establish an award scheme that will motivate authors contributing to the journals.This scheme is expected to contribute to the efforts of FAME to promote the visibility of the journals and hence improve the quality of articles submitted for publication.The award will be initiated by FAME Board of Trustees and preparatory activities executed by the FAME Secretariat.
The award will be given to young African researcher under 35 years of age, who have published articles in African peer-reviewed public health and medical journals during the year preceding the award.Three researchers will be identified based on selection criteria to be developed.The first prize will be US $5,000;two other runner-ups will receive US $2,500 each.All co-authors and insti- tutions where the research was conducted will receive certificates.A re-print of the article, with permission of and acknowledgement of the originating journal, will be published in a journal with high impact factor from among northern partners who will be approached to join this FAME Award Scheme.This is expected to popularize the article and increase the visibility of African public health and medical journals and to encourage submission of articles which might normally go directly to a more prestigious northern journal.
A three-member committee will be constituted from FAME (one member and chair), comprised of one member from the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME),and one from the Council of Scientific Editors (CSE), which will serve on the committee for three consecutive years.The award will be presented annually on the occasion of the African Health Sciences Congress or FAME General Assembly or Annual meeting of African Union Heads of State or Annual Meeting of African Ministers of Health.It will be delivered by accomplished scholars or recognized officials from coun- tries hosting AHS Congress or FAME General Assembly.
It is expected that the award scheme will improve quality of articles submitted to African journals and also increase visibility of African public health and medical research. In the long-term this will have a positive impact on the quality of African public health and medical journals.
Fame accreditation of journals
A certificate given to African public health and medical journals which meet FAME editorial guide- lines (peer-reviewed journal,publishing original articles,at least published for two years,producing regular and timely publications, etc.). FAME and member journals will serve advertisements from time to time.The accreditation will be done once a year by the FAME Secretariat and endorsed by FAME Board of Trustees.
A FAME accredited journal will receive a certificate and will have FAME logo printed on the cover each issue of the journal. In addition it will receive free FAME membership for one year. This is expected to promote recognition of African Public health and medical journals and, in the long- term, improve their quality.
Fund raising
DiFD and other partners could be approached to support FAME to establish four Centers for pub- lishing online and printed versions of African public health and medical journals.A proposal sub- mitted by Bryan Pearson and Chris Zielinski on African capacity building can be adapted to Fame’s needs and discussed with the originators for the proposal. Development should address as many journals as possible not to create a skewed development within FAME member journals.
Budget
Annual Award Cost (USD) Responsible
Advertise the awards 1 000 FAME Secretary
Establish Review Committee 1 000 FAME Chair
Compile articles for review 1 000 FAME members
Travel costs for awardees 5 000 Donor Partner through
Prize expenditures 10 000 FAME
Prepare certificates 1 000
Accreditation
Design Logo 2 000 Donor Partner through
Prepare certificate 1 000 FAME
Correspondence 500
Proposal 5:
Improving the quality of Medical Journals in Africa and improving cir- culation and availability.
Group comprised of Mr J.N.Kariuki, Dr Benedita Fernandes and Prof Sidibe Siaka.
Problem Statement
The quality and variety of biomedical and health sciences published articles in Africa lack balance between original research and review of recent evidence from previously published scientific material. Editors, reviewers and authors lack adequate orientation a well as technical skills for addressing various issues such as writing and editing as well as desk top publishing and software skills.
The distribution of health and medical journals inside the countries to the peripheral level where a majority of the population live and where most doctors and health service providers work as well as outside the country represent two different bottlenecks to dissemination of health infor- mation. Distribution costs such as postage are high in the majority of the African countries and although simple, represent a hurdle for underresourced journals.
Networking resulting from modern information and communication technologies is not available to most of the doctors and health service providers in rural Africa therefore hard copies con- tinue to be the only source of continuing medical education for the majority of doctors, nurses and other service providers of health care. Therefore, one of the main challenges is to provide internet access to doctors in Africa,barring that, distribution of printed journals presents a sim- ilar but not less expensive challenge.
The improvement of biomedical journals distribution will improve the knowledge of health workers. Globally, medical diagnostic and treatment methods are evolving and changing at a rapid rate. Doctors and other health service providers in Africa have the largest patient load,smallest budget, less support staff, a greater disease burden and a greater range of diseases and yet they have the least access to medical journals and on line internet based information of any set of doctors any place in the world.
FAME Editorial guidelines
One of the goals of FAME is to provide a kit of materials which will be useful for editors reviewers and authors in the form of guidelines,examples,illustrations,suggestions,software pro- grams and examples of published materials in order to upgrade the knowledge related to pub- lishing of African medical journals.
Other regions of the world have developed guidelines for publications of scientific research and yet there are none available for the African setting. Therefore FAME proposes to review exist- ing guidelines and adapt them to Africa. These will cover the essential areas of standards, ethics and scientific integrity as well as referencing,citations,bibliography, writing styles,presentation of data and significance of various commonly used statistical tests for significance.
1. Activities
To achieve this, several activities will be undertaken, including:
• Appointment of consultant who will facilitate compilation of standard guidelines to be circu- lated to all FAME journals.
• Working for editors and reviewers to discuss and approve the guidelines.
• Translation of guidelines to French and Portuguese.
• Circulation of translated guidelines to various journals, research institution,universities as well as professional bodies.
• Meeting or online consultation for adoption.
• Adoption and circulation for use.
2. Expected Outcomes
• Improved quality of FAME Journals
• Create a critical mass of editors and reviewers to fill the current shortage
• Create better recognition of African Medical Journals
• Create networking opportunities to stimulate better quality
• Improve continued medical education in Africa where doctors and medical service providers do not have access to either internet information or regularly published medical journals.
3. Budget
• Engage consultant to prepare materials for a small group of FAME editors who will review the existing guidelines and adapt them to the African setting
• Collection of various available guidelines of various journals worldwide.
• Collection of available guidelines for reviewers
• Collection of available guidelines for researchers and authors.
One week workshop for three FAME editors to review and adapt existing materials.
• Return airfare to and from Entebbe in Uganda average $500 for three total $1,500.
• Accommodation at Lake Victoria Hotel Entebbe inclusive of all food and teas per person per day single occupancy $75 for four editors and one facilitator for one week total cost: $2,625
• Honorarium for editors $200 per day for one week for four editors total cost $5,600
• Fees for facilitator/consultant/trainer.
4. Impact
The impact will be seen over the coming five years in terms of improved quality of research
Improvement in distribution of African Medical Journals
• On line publishing of all FAME journals to improve circulation
• Use of pharmaceutical companies commercial distribution channels to each health service providers
• Journal exchange program whereby FAME will facilitate contact and exchanges between northern journals and FAME member journals to increase availability of northern journals in Africa and African journals in the north
• Use of Ministries of Health extension programs to distribute journals for Continuing Medical Education within FAME member countries
• Use of MERA (Medical Education Resource Africa) as a means to reprint articles published by FAME member journals
• Development of marketing strategies to promote paid subscriptions to health service providers
• Use of World Space Foundation for uploading all FAME member journals to make these avail- able throughout Africa wherever a World Space radio receiver is connected to a computer in remote rural areas. (This involves formatting all journals for sending a CD-Rom after World Space Foundation approves the concept and proposal from FAME).
Registration for Institutions to on-line free Medical Journals.
• HINARI – Health Internet Work (WHO Initiative)
• PERI (free password)
• MIMCOM – National Library of Medicine for the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Expected outcomes
• Improve access to medical information
• Improve continued medical education
• Facilitate more circulation of journals.
Budget
• Equipment one desk top computer with CD-RW
• Training at country level
• Registration for various electronic packages (Hinari, Peri, Mimcom etc) Initiator and executor
• Steering Committee especially the Chair and Secretary
• Secretariat
• Journals at the country level, especially the editor and production manager as well as the mar- keting,distribution and commercial manager.
Impact As outcomes
Schedule of activities
Activity Initiator Timing Target group and executor
Appointment of trainer, Steering Committee 2004 Someone familiar with facilitator, consultant Secretariat FAME participatory training,
and WHO/TDR capacity development
Workshop for Editors Steering Committee 2004 Editors +Reviewers
+ Reviewers Secretariat FAME (25 participants)
and WHO/TDR
Translation of guidelines WHO/TDR + AFRO WHO AFRO in
in French & Portuguese Brazzaville
Circulation of reviewed FAME Chair, Committee 2004 All FAME members and adapted Guidelines and Secretariat
Meeting or on-line FAME & TDR End of All FAME members
consultation 2004
Adoption & circulation FAME & Secretariat All FAME member for use of the referred
guidelines
Expert witness session
This session was organized to allow FAME members to interact in a formal manner with the two international members from TDR in Geneva. It was conducted under a participatory framework know as “expert witness.” The expert witness process allowed everyone to put their questions directly to the witnesses. Questions and answers were captured by the facilitator.
Q. How can TDR assist FAME?
A. TDR will assist FAME when FAME is clear on its own purpose However,TDR may be best at providing assistance in the area of training for FAME members.
Q. What sort of training can TDR support to FAME?
A. If there is a gap in peer review process – then TDR could assist.
TDR will respond to specific requests of FAME.
Q. Are there similar organizations to TDR which can support FAME?
A. Not that we know of, however, if you are asking if any other organizations have requested TDR support,then the answer is yes. In the Mediterranean Region TDR has received a request to assist in the establishment of an organization similar to FAME. Also, Fogarty Foundation has offered to assist FAME, however, no request has been formally made to them.
Q. How comprehensive is WHO list of African Journals?
A. It is only as good as the responses. We received 65 replies from 26 countries.
Q. How can WHO/TDR assist the Mozambique medical journal?
A. TDR cannot fund your journal directly. FAME is best bet for assistance, in other words we can only work through FAME and not directly with your journal.
Q. Mozambique is not at same level as other African journals – so how can Mozambique get help?
A. That is for FAME to decide based on a situation analysis which needs to be carried out in the process of registering journals under FAME.
FAMESteering Committee participants
A. Training in Addis Ababa in October, 2003 will be useful to you.
Q. Training,distribution of journals and the quality of the contents of our journals were identified as areas as where FAME needs assistance , can TDR respond to all of these?
A. Training is the most likely area where TDR can offer help.
A. Distribution can also be supported in terms of planning meetings.
A. The quality issues can be addressed through development and distribution of African adapt- ed Guidelines for researchers,authors, reviewers and editors.
Q How can TDR assist countries which use French or Portuguese?
A. TDR will try to be trilingual for important communication as well as for the Guidelines.
FAME can also manage with members.WHO AFRO has all three as official languages and there- fore is your best bet.
Q. How can TDR assist with Networking?
A. TDR can assist only through FAME.
TDR will not give direct support to any national medical journal.
Q. Can TDR assist FAME with medical journal editing?
A. It is up to FAME to establish relation with WAME and other such bodies and then link these where feasible to specific national medical journals.
Q. How can TDR assist with Continuing Medical Education especially with Medical Associations?
A. Only through FAME.TDR cannot support one country at a time.
Q. KEMRI is a beneficiary of several TDR grants . We would like to invite TDR to join our congress and make a presentation at Addis in October, can you agree to attending and presenting a paper?
A. Yes,TDR would like to participate in the Congress of Health Sciences.
Q. KEMRI would like to train young scientists . Can TDR fund such training?
A. TDR focuses on capacity development. KEMRI is strong and can mount such training on its own. However, FAME can undertake to support weaker countries,if this is a priority for FAME.
Q. FAME has identified regional indexing as a priority. Can TDR assist?
A. This is well beyond the scope of TDR. WHO main library in Geneva may assist. TDR might be able to act as an advocate for you.
Q. FAME is planning to develop peer guidelines – is it feasible?
A. Editorial guidelines already exist from many scientific organizations. FAME can adapt these in a straight forward way to the situation in Africa.
Q. What indicators can TDR suggest to evaluate FAME performance?
A. FAME should create indicators to evaluate outcomes which are set. FAME should have a clear monitoring and evaluation process from the outset.
A. If more African Journals get into Medline , that would be a measure of success.
Q. How can Mozambique get TDR assistance for training for our journal?
A. TDR can support your journal in a variety of ways – you must decide your priorities. But such support might be best channeled through FAME.
Q. How can reviewers be expanded in countries where there is a shortage?
A. This is FAME activity – not a TDR activity. It is an African problem and you need to address it as such.
Q. Can you send the survey of African Medical Journals to FAME members?
A. Yes,TDR will send.
Q. Can TDR sponsor library exchange program for journals?
A. No, but it can be done through FAME or through HINARI where you can get journals on line.
Q. Can TDR assist countries who do not have access to HINARI?
A. No. There are other avenues such as AFRO who can do this more effectively.
Q. Hard copies of our journals and of foreign journals are demanded,can TDR assist?
A. KEMRI can down load and print hard copies of these and even sell them,TDR cannot pur- chase journals for you.
Q. Can TDR fund a journal based dissemination workshop?
A. Other partners can do this through FAME. Fogarty Foundation can fund training through FAME, since they expressed an interest in providing such support in Geneva in October 2002.
A. Model or pilot activities can be funded but not as a recurrent exercise and even then we would prefer to work within the context of FAME.
Questions from the expert witnesses to the members of FAME
Q. What is purpose of your National Medical Journal?
A. Mozambique – disseminate original Mozambique research.
A. Mali – Continuing Medical Educationthrough the journal for French speaking West Africa.
A. Ethiopia – 40 years ago mission statement was formulated which emphasized dissemination of information on health and medicine. Within this context today we focus on scientific research and reviews which are balanced between public health and medicine.
A. Kenya – disseminate original research and provide forum for African researchers to publish.
A. East African Medical Journal has the principle purpose of disseminating information to Kenya Medical Association members for Continuing Medical Education. Scientific research has replaced information in recent years.
Q. What proportion of your journal contents deals with infectious diseases?
A. Mozambique - 50%
Mali – 30%
Kenya – 20% because the journal also accepts articles on social sciences Ethiopia – 60% because of a recent editorial policy
East Africa – 70%
Q. Why do FAME editors neglect their e-mail messages from TDR?
A. Slow internet connection A. Limited time
A. Overload of messages in in-box
A. Lack of regular and reliable computers and telephone lines A. But we will improve.
Expert witnesses: Dr Fabio Zicker and Ms Edith Certain,TDR,WHO Geneva
Evaluation of the meeting by FAME members
Participants present at the last session evaluated six aspects of the FAME Steering Committee workshop as shown above.
Forum for African Medical Editors
CONSTITUTION
PREAMBLE
WHEREASthe African continent is the second largest in the world with a population of about seven hundred million people (700 million);
AND WHEREASthe continent has fifty-three sovereign (53) states;
AND WHEREASthe continent has massive need for medical and health research as well as con- tinuing medical education given the disease burden and economic conditions;
AND WHEREASthe continent has poor infrastructure such as transportation,telecommunica- tions, and technology and especially health care facilities and services in Africa;
AND WHEREASthe continent faces various challenges including civil strives, refugees and inter- nally displaced persons, which places an even greater burden on health care providers;
AND WHEREAS these factors have limited development of science and technology bringing down economic development and thereby frustrating medical research and publication of health and development journals;
Annex
Now this Constitution provides as follows:
PART ONE
Description of the organization
Article I:Name
The name of the organization shall be the FORUM FOR AFRICAN MEDICAL EDITORS here- inafter referred to as ‘The Forum’.In the abbreviated form,the Forum may be referred to as FAME.
Article II:Registered office
Registered office The registered office of the Forum shall be at such a place as the Board of Trustees of the Forum may from time to time decide.
Article III:Nature of the Forum
The Forum shall be a non-governmental, voluntary, non-partisan and not for profit organization whose mission is to improve better health of the public through out Africa.
Article IV:Objectives
The objects of Forum for Africa Medical Editors (FAME) shall be:
• To promote higher education and continuing medical education
• To promote the best of scientific medicine in order to improve the health of the public
• Facilitate co-operation and communication among editors of medical journals through out the world
• Improve editorial standards and promote professionalism in medical editing through education, self-criticism, and self-governance.
• Promote research in peer review and medical editing.
• Co-operate with any National or international body which pursues objectives similar to or compatible with the aforesaid objects.
Do all such things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objectives.
The objects of the Forum shall not be carried on for the profit of its members and no part of the income or assets of the Forum shall inure for the benefit of any member or officer of the Forum provided however that such remuneration of officers or employees shall be fixed by the Board of Trustees of the Forum shall not be considered to be a profit for purposes of this article.
Article V:Membership
The Forum shall have the following categories of membership:
a) Regular membership
Editors of peer reviewed medical journals are eligible for regular membership. Definitions:
“Editor” means a person with current or previous responsibility for determining acceptance of manuscripts;“peer r eviewed” means submitting most of the articles it eventually publishes for review by experts outside the journal’s own staff;“medical journal” means a periodical whose readers are mostly physicians and whose published articles mostly relate to medicine. Can- didates who do not meet these criteria may, in exceptional circumstances,be elected to reg ular membership by majority vote of the Membership Committee. Regular members may vote, hold office, and serve on committees.
b) Associate membership
Persons who, while not eligible for regular membership, have interests in medical journal edit- ing and peer review may apply for associate membership.Associate members will have all rights and privileges of other members except that they may not vote or hold office.
Article VI:Eligibility / Admission to membership
Application for regular membership should include evidence that the editor’s journal(s) is (are) peer reviewed as well as copies of its masthead and instructions to authors.Application for asso- ciate membership should include a description of the applicant’s background and interest in med- ical editing and peer review.All applications will be evaluated by the Membership Committee, with a majority vote required for election to membership. Appeals from negative decisions by the Membership Committee may be made to the Board of Trustees where two-thirds majority of the Board’s membership is required to overturn the decision.
Article VII:Cessation of membership a) Resignation
Members wishing to resign from any category of membership should do so in writing to the Board of Trustees.
b) Expulsion
Involuntary removal from membership for any cause or reason requires two-thirds vote of the Board of Trustees.
c) Death
Article VIII:Appeal
a) Any person or group of persons aggrieved by the decision of the board of trustees to deny or
c) Any member or applicant concerned shall have the right if he or she so wishes to address the Annual General Meeting or make representations in writing to the secretary who shall read out to the meeting the written representations so received
Article IX:Subscription fee
a) If and where applicable, every qualified member shall pay to the secretariat on or before 31st December every year an annual membership subscription according to the scale, which shall from time to time be laid down by the Forum.
b) Subscription fee is recoverable in arrears.
Article X:Dues and Assessments
The need for dues and assessments shall be determined by the Board of Trustees in consultation with the Finance Committee . If and when dues or assessments are levied, members shall be noti - fied in writing and must pay such dues or assessments within 90 days of notification.
PART TWO
Administration and management
Article XI:Board of Trustees
The administration of the Forum shall be vested in the Board of Trustees, which shall consist of the chairperson, immediate chairperson,vice chairperson,secretary and treasurer.
a) Chair.
The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the organization and its Board of Trustees,
including meetings conducted by electronic means.S/he shall appoint committee members and shall have such powers and perform such duties customary for an organization’s chief execu- tive officer.The term of the Chair’s office shall be for a maximum of two terms.
b) Immediate Past Chair.
Upon completion of a term as Chair, the officer shall automatically become Immediate Past Chair for two years.
c) Chair Elect.
The Chair Elect shall be elected biennially, under procedures described elsewhere
herein and serve for two years at which time s/he shall become the Chair. S/he shall preside at meetings of the Board of Trustees or members in case of absence or disability of the Chair.
d) Secretary.
The Secretary shall keep, or cause to be kept,minutes of the meetings of the Board of Trustees
and the members and shall be responsible for transcribing and distributing such minutes to the appropriate recipients within 30 days of each meeting.The Secretary shall, in general, perform such other duties assigned by the Chair or Board of Trustees.His or her term of office shall be two terms of two years each.
e) Treasurer.
The Treasurer shall be responsible for all funds and securities of the Forum, including collec- tion and receipt of monies due and payable to FAME and dispersion of appropriate payments and such other duties that might be assigned by the Chair or Board of Trustees.S/he shall ser ve for two terms of two years each.
Article XII:Quorum
The quorum of the Board of Trustees shall be 50% of members.
Article XIII:Board of Trustees
a) Composition
The Board of Trustees shall comprise of at least six persons including the offi
cers enumerated in Article V (Chair, Immediate Past Chair, Chair Elect,Secretar y, and Treasurer) plus five Trustees at-large.
b) Trustees at-large
The term of office for Trustees at-large shall be two years, renewable once. Initially, the terms shall be staggered so that no more than two Trustees at-large positions become vacant each year.
c) Election of officers and Trustees
Officers to be elected (i.e.,Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer) and Trustees at-large shall be elected from a slate of nominees presented by the Nominating Committee (composed of one Trustee at-large and one other member who is not an officer or Trustee, both appointed by the Chair, and chaired by the Immediate Past Chair).The slate shall be publicized to the mem- bership 21 days before the scheduled elections. Nominees for any position may be added to the slate upon receipt of a written petition signed by at least ten members.The final nominee slate will then be circulated by electronic or other means to the entire membership for vote.
A quorum for purposes of election shall be one-third of regular members.
d) Vacancies
If vacancy occurs among the officers or Board of Trustees,it shall be filled by appointment by the Chair with advice of the Board of Trustees.Such appointment shall continue until the next regular election when the office shall be filled by the procedures described elsewhere herein.
e) Removal
Any officer or Trustee may be removed from office by two-thirds vote of the full Board of Trustees.
Article XIV:Communications with Members
a) The primary means of communication between the Board of Trustees and the membership and among members shall be electronic mail. Each member shall be responsible for maintaining a currently accurate e-mail address with the Secretar y.
b) Meetings of the members may be called from time to time by the Chair. Notice of such meetings shall be sent to members at least 21 days in advance of said meeting.
Article XV: Committees a) Standing Committees
Standing committees of FAME shall be Information and Communication Technology (ICT),Finance, Membership, Editorial Policy, Education, and Ethics committees.Except as provided hereinafter, chairs of committees shall be appointed annually by the Chair, with the advice of the Board of Trustees, and may be reappointed; members of committees shall be appointed annually by the Chair, with the advice of the chair of the respective committee, and may be reappointed.The chairs of standing committees shall report to the Board of Trustees at least annually and all reports released publicly shall first be sent to the Board of Trustees for review and approval.
b) Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Committee
The ICT Committee shall be responsible for maintaining the FAME website and other matters related thereto.
c) Finance Committee
The Finance Committee shall be responsible for overseeing financial management of the organ- ization, including budget planning and control. It shall be chaired by the Treasurer.
d) Membership Committee
The Membership Committee shall be responsible for promoting membership and for evaluat- ing and approving applications for membership.
e) Editorial Policy Committee
The Editorial Policy Committee shall be responsible for evaluating general and specific editorial policies for member journals to consider and making recommendations related thereto to the Board of Trustees for possible dissemination to the membership.
f) Education Committee
The Education Committee shall be responsible for developing and reevaluating educational mate- rials and recommending to the Board of Trustees their possible dissemination to the membership.
g) Ethics Committee
The Ethics Committee shall be responsible for developing statements on ethical issues and the code by which member journals should abide, and recommending to the Board of Trustees their possible dissemination to the membership. The Ethics Committee may, on referral by the Chair, also evaluate allegations of ethical improprieties against FAME members.
h) Other Committees
The Chair may appoint with the advice of the Board of Trustees,such other committees or task forces as may be deemed advisable . Appointment of such committee or task force shall be accom panied by a written statement of (a) purpose, (b) members and chair, and (c) anticipated life of the committee or task force.
PART THREE Accounts and finances
Article XVI:Annual Reports
The treasurer shall present to the General Meeting for approval of the financial report and statements of accounts for the preceding year(s).
Article XVII:Fiscal Year
The fiscal year of FAME shall commence on 1st January and ends on 31st December.
Article XVIII:Auditors
The finances and accounts of the Forum shall be audited in every financial year by accredited audi- tors appointed for the purpose by a majority vote of members present at the General Meeting.
Article XIX:Use of Funds
a) The funds of the Forum shall be used only for the objects of the Forum.
b) The Board of Trustees shall cause all monies and funds received and paid to the Forum to be deposited in the name of the Forum in any bank or banks so approved.
c) The Board of Trustees shall maintain prudent accounting and financial standards in respect of all funds and properties of the Forum.
d) No part of the Forum’s funds may be distributed to members.
PART FOUR Dissolution
Article XX:Dissolution
In the event of dissolution or final liquidation, the remaining assets of FAME shall be applied and
Article XXI:Indemnification
The Board of Trustees shall purchase or cause to be purchased an insurance policy to indemnify officers,Trustees,or employees against any and all expenses and liabilities actually and necessarily incurred by them or imposed on them in connection with any claim, action, suit, or proceeding (whether actual or threatened, brought by or in the right of the Forum or otherwise, civil, crimi- nal, administrative or investigative, including appeals) to which the defendant may be or is made a party by reason of his/her being or having been an officer,Trustee, or employee of the Forum,pro- vided,however, that there shall be no indemnification in relation to matters as to which s/he shall be adjudged in such claim, action, suit or proceeding to be guilty of a criminal offense or liable to the Forum for damages out of his/her own negligence or misconduct in the performance of a duty to the Board of Trustees.The provisions of this Article shall be applicable to claims, actions, suits, or proceedings made or condemned after the adoption hereof,whether arising from acts or omis- sions to act occurring before or after adoption thereof.
Article XXII:Amendments a) Proposal
Amendments to this constitution may be proposed by (a) majority vote of the Board of Trustees or (b) a petition signed by at least 10% of the regular members.Such proposed amendments shall identify the relevant article and section and state the precise words to be amended.
b) Vote
Upon receipt of an amendment proposal as outlined in (a) above, the Secretary shall within 60 days cause the proposed amendment to be sent to regular and emeritus members for vote.
Two-thirds majority of those voting shall be required for adoption of the amendment.
c) Notification
The Secretary shall notify the membership of the results of a vote conducted in accordance with (b) above.
SCHEDULE
Forum for African Medical Editors
Regulations governing the administration of Forum of African Medical Editors
1. These regulations, for the time being,shall be construed with references to the provisions of the Societies’ Act,Cap 108 Laws of Kenya and Trustees Act Cap 167 Laws of Kenya and terms used in these Regulations shall be taken as having the same respective meaning as they have been used in the referred document and Acts.
Board of Trustees
2. There shall be a Board of Trustees,which shall consist of not less than six and not more than ten trustees who shall elect amongst them a Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.
3. The corporate level shall consist of the Board of Trustees,which shall have power to create a management structure for effective discharge of the objects and mission of the Forum.
4. There shall be the Chair, Board of Trustees in charge of Corporate Stewardship, coordination public of relations,links with national and international agencies and mobilization of resources from the donor communities.
5. The Forum is established in Kenya and the Trustees shall have power to establish its head- quarters or create offices in any country of the world in furtherance of the interest of the FORUM.
6. The Trustees shall hold office for a period of two years renewable by majority vote of all trustees.
7. Any new trustee shall be appointed by a consensus of all sitting members of the Board of Trustees.
8. Any trustee may resign by notice in writing to the Chair of the board and shall thereupon cease to be a trustee and member of the board.
9. The first trustees shall be as provided in the Trust Deed and shall be at liberty to nominate other trustees as may become necessary in promotion of the objects of the Forum.
10. There shall be the Patron of the Forum,whose nomination shall be made by the Board of Trustees to advise and give general policy guidelines on the operations of the Forum.
Meetings
within a stipulated period and if the Chair shall fail to call such a meeting the Trustee requesting for the meeting may convene the meeting;
b) At the first meeting of the Trustees and thereafter at intervals of two years the Trustees shall elect one of them to be Chair and the others to hold other offices as may become necessary;and in any case, in accordance with Article XIII of the Constitution.
c) Every meeting of Trustees be convened by a written notice sent to the Trustees at least 14 days before the date of the Meeting or by a short notice if more than half of the Trustees agree in writing;
d) The quorum necessary for a meeting shall be two Trustees Provided that any meeting at which there is no quorum within half an hour after the time appointed for the meeting shall automatically stand adjourned to the same day of the next week at the same time and place;
e) Decisions shall (except as provided by Clause 13 hereof) be by majority vote of the Trustees present at any meeting,and in the event of equality of votes the Chair shall have a casting vote;
g) A resolution in writing signed by all the Trustees,as alternative to a meeting,shall consti- tute a valid decision;
h) Proper minutes shall be kept of all meetings and resolutions of the Trustees;and i) In all other respects the Trustees shall regulate their own procedure including procedure
for taking votes when necessary.
12. The Trustees may from time to time at their discretion delegate all or any of their powers or duties under these presents:
a) To such committees (consisting of Trustees and/or others) as they may appoint; or b) To any two of the Trustees alone;on such terms and conditions as they think proper.
13. The Trustees may also at their discretion seek and accept professional or other advice with regard to the performance of any of their duties or the exercise of any of their power with or without payment for such advice .
14. All moneys from time to time received by or on behalf of the Trustees shall be paid forthwith into a bank or banks selected by the Trustees and (with the exception only of any imprest accounts opened by the Trustees for operation by specified officers) shall not be withdrawn therefrom otherwise than under the signatures of at least Two persons designated for that purpose by the Trustees.
15. The Trustees shall before the commencement of each calendar year cause to be prepared and approved a budget of both recurrent expenditure and capital expenditure for that year with power nevertheless to authorize modifications thereof at any time or times during the same year: Provided that:
a) Approval of every such budget shall require the concurrence therein of the Trustees;and b) There shall be no recurrent expenditure or capital expenditure otherwise than in accor
dance with the budget so approved without the consent of the Trustees.
16. The Trustees shall cause proper accounts of the Forum Fund and all dealings therewith and of all undertakings activities in relation thereto to be kept at all times and once in each cal- endar year to be audited and presented to them for their approval.
17. Any Trustee who is not able to perform his/her duties on account of absence for whatever reason may, subject to approval by his/her co-Trustees,either by formal power of attorney or by informal writing under his/her hand appoint any of the Trustees to be his/her representa-
