Open access in Burkina Faso

Open Access in Burkina Faso; Researchers from Burkina Faso publish articles in international OA journals, for example, in 2013, 136 articles have been published with BioMed Central – an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the Open Access publishing model – and among them there are highly accessed articles by researchers from Centre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Yalgado Ouédraogo Ouagadougou; Centre Muraz; Centre National de Recherche et de Formation sur le Paludisme, Ministère de la Santé; Direction des Etudes et de la Planification, Ministère de la Santé; Groupe de Recherche et d'Action en Santé; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement; Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé; Institut International d'Ingénierie de l'Eau et de l'Environnement (2IE); Medical Centre St Camille; Multi Disease Surveillance Centre WHO; National Tuberculosis Program, Ministry of Health; Projet AnKaHeresso; and Université de Ouagadougou.

117 articles have been published in Public Library of Science (PLoS) international Open Access journals: PLoS ONE, PLoS Medicine and PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases by researchers from Centre Hospitaltier, Universitaire Souro Sanou; Centre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna; Centre International de Recherche-Développement sur l'Elevage en zone Sub-humide (CIRDES); Centre Medical Saint Camille; Centre Muraz; Centre National de Recherche et de Formation sur le Paludisme; Direction de l'Agriculture et de la Sécurité Alimentaire (DASA), Département Développement Rural, Ressources Naturelles et Environnement (DDRE), Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA); Groupe de Recherche et d'Action en Santé; Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD); Institut Bioforce Développement Afrique; Institut de l'Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA), Station de Kamboinsé; Institut Régional des Sciences de Santé, Laboratoire d'Entomologie et de Parasitologie; Laboratoire de Biologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Pédiatrique Charles de Gaulle; Laboratoire National d'Elevage; Laboratoire National Vétérinaire; Lymphatic Filariasis Program, Ministry of Health; Multi-disease Surveillance Centre; Programme pour l'Afrique Centrale et Occidentale (PACO), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); UFR Sciences de la Santé, Université de Ouagadougou; West African Health Organization, Vision 2020 coordination group; African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control, World Health Organization; and WHO –IST West Africa.

Africa Label – an international development consulting firm headquartered in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and specialized in five areas: Governance and Institutional development; Capacity building; Project Management; Enterprise Development and E-government & ICT solutions for development – has signed the Budapest Open Access Initiative – a major declaration in support of Open Access.

As of June 2015, there are three OA journals published in Burkina Faso which are indexed in African Journals Online (AJOL):

Sud Sciences et Technologies : Bulletin Technique de l'E.I.E.R, a scientific journal proposed as a framework of expression and presentation of programs and research results or engineering work with scientific and technological interest for the social development -economic African populations.

Revue Burkinabè de droit: The journal is run by teachers and law practitioners, it has an organization made up of a steering committee, a scientific committee and an editorial board.

Science et Technique, Sciences de la Santé: The journal is focused on health sciences in general. It publishes articles related to major problems in public health in sub-Saharan Africa such as HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, neglected diseases and emerging disease. It covers different dimensions like epidemiology, clinical, paraclinical, health system and policy, pharmacy, and traditional medicine.

There are currently no OA policies registered in ROARMAP.

Enabling Environment[edit]

REBIST (Réseau Burkinabe d’Information Scientifique et Technique) – a national network of scientific and technical information was established in March 2004 by the documentation centres of higher education and research institutions in Burkina Faso that include Université de Ouagadougou, Centre National de Recherche Agricole, Institut Supérieur des Sciences de la Population ( ISSP), IPD AOS, Comité Permanent Inter Etats de Lutte contre la sécheresse dans le Sahel ( CILSS) ‐ OUAGADOUGOU, Centre de Documentation et d’Information Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA), Institut International d’Ingénierie de l’eau et de l’environnement, Centre Africain pour l'Eau Potable et l'Assainissement, Conseil Africain et Malgache pour l’Enseignement Supérieur (CAMES), Centre de Documentation du Programme africain de lutte contre l’Onchocercose (APOC) et du Centre de surveillance pluripathologique (MDSC), CIRDES /Bobo Dioulasso, IRD /Bobo‐ Dioulasso, Centre Muraz, Université de Bobo‐ Dioulasso and Centre de Documentation Organisation Ouest Africaine de la Santé (OOAS). The network was established in order to provide researchers, students, practitioners and general public with high quality services and information and to strengthen collaborative relationships between professionals.

Another active network – RIDEB (le Réseau d’information et de Documentation sur l’Environnement au Burkina Faso) – was set up in 2001 with the support from the Project for Institutional Support to the Permanent Secretariat of the National Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development (PAI-SP/CONEDD), funded by the Belgian Technical Cooperation (BTC). This project supported the accessibility and management of environmental information in Burkina Faso and has been recognized by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization in August 2003. RIDEB currently has 24 resource centers using a common approach to make environmental information open and accessible to all.

The REBIST and RIDEB member institutions have started building a common database, sharing experiences and expertise, disseminating information and documentation to increase visibility of the research outputs produced in the country, training librarians and researchers to work in the digital environment and informing researchers about opportunities of Open Access knowledge sharing (visibility ad international recognition). And they are looking forward to embracing the Open Access projects.

Potential Barriers[edit]

Lack of awareness and lack of training for librarians and researchers to practice Open Access.
Lack of collaboration with regional and national initiatives.
New approaches to knowledge management and dissemination haven't been yet embraced by educational and research institutions in the country.
Lack of ICT skills.
Researchers are reluctant to provide Open Access to research outputs.

Major Projects/Initiatives[edit]

Two national networks have been created:

REBIST (Réseau Burkinabe d’Information Scientifique et Technique) and
RIDEB (le Réseau d’information et de Documentation sur l’Environnement au Burkina Faso).

Two digital libraries have been set up using Greenstone software:

Bibliothèque numérique de CAMES (Conseil Africain et Malgache de l'Enseignement Supérieur) in Burkina Faso that includes the articles of the Revue pharmacopée et médecine traditionnelle africaines (Journal of Traditional African Pharmacopeia and Medicine) and theses and dissertations of the universities and research centres;
Universite Polytechnique de Bobo-Dioulasso – research reports and theses and dissertations. Universite Polytechnique de Bobo-Dioulasso

Past and Future OA Related Activities[edit]

EIFL is currently engaged in Burkina Faso, working in the area of public library development. In 2014 EIFL supported Friends of African Village Libraries (FAVL) to work with four rural libraries in Tuy Province to address community health issues by introducing innovative new library services for teenage girls. the timeline set for this project is from May 2014- June 2015. The four libraries, in the villages of Béréba, Dimikuy, Koumbia and Sara, are all part of the Tuy Village Libraries network. The libraries advance rural development by providing access to print resources and organizing book clubs, literacy promotion and events focused on local concerns like health and hygiene and education. FAVL is an international NGO that manages and supports small community libraries in rural Africa.

Open Access to research information, in particular collecting and disseminating health research outcomes at institutions via Open Access repositories, was discussed at the 12^th congress of the Association of Health Information and Libraries in Africa (AHILA) that took place in October 2010 in Ouagadougou, and it is expected that there will be new Open Access developments in the country and in the region.

Sources[edit]

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