Abstract
BackgroundImproving health in Africa is a high priority internationally. Inadequate research capacity to produce local, relevant research has been identified as a limitation to improved population health. Increasing attention is being paid to the higher education sector in Africa as a method of addressing this; evidence that such investment is having the desired impact is required. A 1998 3-year investment by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) in research training at the School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa was reviewed to assess its' impact.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional survey of the 70 students registered for the masters programme in epidemiology & biostatistics from 2000-2005 was conducted. Data were collected from self-administered questionnaires.ResultsSixty percent (42/70) of students responded. At the time of the survey 19% of respondents changed their country of residence after completion of the masters course, 14% migrated within Africa and 5% migrated out of Africa. Approximately half (47%) were employed as researchers and 38% worked in research institutions. Sixty percent reported research output, and four graduates were pursuing PhD studies. Government subsidy to higher education institutions, investments of the University of the Witwatersrand in successful programmes and ongoing bursaries for students to cover tuition fees were important for sustainability.ConclusionsInvesting in African institutions to improve research training capacity resulted in the retention of graduates in Africa in research positions and produced research output. Training programmes can be sustained when national governments invest in higher education and where that funding is judiciously applied. Challenges remain if funding for students bursaries is not available.
Highlights
Improving health in Africa is a high priority internationally
Funding was made available for students to study in developed countries and African students completed their post graduate studies in epidemiology and biostatistics at northern training institutions
The United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF)/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/World Bank/World Health Organization (WHO) Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) has over 30 years of experience in various methods of research capacity development in low and middle income countries, such as grants to individuals to pursue higher degrees, investment in research lead by developing country teams, and awards to institutions strengthening grants usually related to a specific research project [7]
Summary
Improving health in Africa is a high priority internationally. Inadequate research capacity to produce local, relevant research has been identified as a limitation to improved population health. Funding was made available for students to study in developed countries and African students completed their post graduate studies in epidemiology and biostatistics at northern training institutions. Critiques of this have included that it is too expensive, that training is inappropriate to the context in which graduates will eventually work, and that the return rate to Africa is low. PHEA was extended for another 5 years and was joined by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation as well as the Kresge Foundation They invested $440 million dollars over the ten years in higher education in nine African countries (Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana). This paper describes an investment made by TDR in masters level training in epidemiology and biostatistics at the School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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