Editorial: Contributing to the Growth of Scientific Journals in Ethiopia

Abstract

Since the Ethiopian Journal of Reproductive Health (EJRH) was launched in 2007, it has undergone a series of changes. For the first 10 years after its inception, our journal used to be published only once a year, which was even at times difficult to sustain.With the goal of improving both the quality and quantity of the research we publish every year, in 2017, in collaboration with the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) and a financial support from the Center for Reproductive Health Training (CIRHT) we conducted a landscape study to find out the major challenges of the Journal.Following the findings and recommendations of this study, we have been able to make major changes to the scientific publication. Among these changes are the numbers of volumes we publish per year- which grew to four times, the launching of its own automated manuscript processing and publishing website- https://ejrh.org/, the training of staff and editorial board members, the adoption of a comprehensive editorial policy, inclusion in Scopus and African Journals Online and recognition by the Ministry of Education.As you go through our July, 2023, volume, one of the articles you find is entitled - Evaluation of the Quality of Ethiopian Journal of Reproductive Health. This manuscript is compiled based on the landscape study conducted back in 2017.As our readers go through the conclusions and recommendations of this study, it might appear inconsistent with the current status of our publication. We decided to publish this article, even though it contrasts to the current reality of EJRH, because it would help other upcoming new scientific journals in their struggle to become a better platform for the scientific community they serve. We hope this study will inspire the same change in other scientific journals as it did to our Journal. I invite you to enjoy reading this and other articles with important findings to our practice. Professor Delayehu Bekele Editor-in-Chief