For over 23 years, one medical journal has served the needs of African healthcare professionals and the industry supplying them. Africa Health is still circulated free of charge, 6 times each year to over 6000 healthcare professionals, aid organisations, hospitals, equipment dealers and distributors on this huge continent.

More than ever, health professionals in sub-Saharan Africa have a vital role to play. To help them they need up-to-date and appropriate information on new developments which affect their work. This includes epidemiological information, news on management issues in healthcare delivery and - most crucially - updates on clinical practice. This is where Africa Health comes in; for many African health workers our journal is the only medical publication which reaches them. AH is essential reading and plays a key part in the process of continuing medical education.
Our specially commissioned features articles cover a wide range of topics. The 'Summaries & Abstracts' section keeps readers in touch with key research papers published in the international medical journals. Selected papers are discussed in more detail in our 'Clinical Review' section.
The 'Clinical Quiz' is another very popular regular with readers. The 'News' section and 'Letters to the Editor' complete the journal. Occasional supplements and special sections allow us to take an in-depth look at particular medical conditions and healthcare issues.

Africa Health includes a number of regular sections which are long established
favourites with readers.

• News - the news section summarises new developments in healthcare across the African continent.
• Medicine Digest - summaries of important papers from the international medical literature.
• Clinical Review - a panel of reviewers looks at new research findings in key areas and discusses their significance from a African perspective.
• Clinical Quiz offers readers a chance to test their knowledge within the context of realistic stories set in a fictitious but very believable hospital!
• Letters to the Editor - correspondence from readers.

Feature Articles

Our feature articles are contributed by doctors and other health professionals working in Africa, as well as by distinguished international writers. This allows us to deal with the most pressing health issues of the day from a specifically African angle. Topics to be included in the coming months include:

• cancer and environment
• health workers and the internet
• statins
• rehabilitations of disabled children
• trypanosomiasis
• buruli ulcer
• surgery for burns
• low vision
• GP training
• priorities for paediatric surgery
• intra-osseous infusion

Supplements

We also plan to publish a number of special supplements examining certain key issues in greater depth.

• malaria
• HIV/AIDS
• tuberculosis
• reproductive health
  

If you are resident in sub-Saharan Africa and a healthcare professional you could qualify to receive the journal free. If you are resident elsewhere in the world you can still apply, but may have to pay an annual subscription fee.

Simple - just contact:

Stuart Marritt at Africa Health journal, Vine House, Fair Green,
Reach, Cambridge CB25 0JD, England
Telephone: +44 1638 743633
Fax: +44 1638 743998
E-mail: stuart@fsg.co.uk

Stuart will send you further details on the flexible advertising options and a copy of the journal by express return!

How can I write an article for Africa Health ?

Most of our articles are commissioned by the editorial team but unsolicited contributions are welcome from healthcare workers with experience in Africa. Please note the following points:

• Our articles are reviews and not original studies.
• Articles should provide our readers (most of whom are doctors) with practical information that can help them perform their day-to-day work.
• Our readers always tell us they want more clinical information and so we generally favour clinical articles over those which focus on, for example, socioeconomic or administrative matters.
• Articles should be relevant to the African situation. There is, for example, no point in advocating procedures which are not feasible in the African economic climate.  
• Articles should be 1200-1700 words long. A table, graph or photograph  may be included but, in that case, the maximum number of words is 1500.References may be cited but the reference list should be of no more than about five items.
• If possible articles should be supplied on a computer disk or as an e-mail  attachment, saved as a 'text only' file. This is not possible for many writers, so a neatly typed manuscript is acceptable.
• Where appropriate, we have articles checked by an authority in the clinical area in question. It may then be necessary to ask the author to make amendments.
• Before taking the time and trouble to write a completed article, authors are recommended to send a short summary (one paragraph), so we can advise at an early stage as to whether the article would be suitable.