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For decades, the lack of high‐quality empirical economic research on the state of Africa's agriculture and rural economies has been an important factor impeding the formulation of evidence‐based policy on the continent. The Structural Transformation of African Agriculture and Rural Spaces program aims to build a critical mass of early career African scholars and policy research through an emphasis on mentorship and professional development to help remedy that deficiency. This paper explains the motivations, origins, and outcomes to date of the program, and offers lessons learned for others wishing to create research capacity development opportunities for under‐represented groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capacity building programmes for African regulators should link education, training and research with career development in an approach that combines an academic base and experiential learning aligned within a competency framework. A regulatory ecosystem that engages with a broad range of stakeholders will mean that expertise in the ever‐expanding field of regulatory science filters into teaching and research in a symbiotic way. In this way capacity development interventions will be a collaborative approach between the learning context (academic and training institutions) and the performance context (regulatory agencies and industry), which will ultimately best serve the patients. Monitoring and evaluation of capacity development interventions will be essential to show value of investments and ultimately guide continued funding and sustainability. This paper reviews the skills and human capacity gaps, reports on regulatory assessment pathways used in Ghana, South Africa and Zimbabwe and outlines a staged tactical approach for Africa that builds on previous efforts to strengthen African regulatory ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective knowledge sharing and community engagement can be major enablers in the pursuit of socially relevant benefits from ecological restoration and rehabilitation. Focusing on two ecological restoration and rehabilitation practitioner organizations and their workers, this paper evaluates perceptions of the extent to which short‐term knowledge exchange contributes to social goals in ecological restoration and rehabilitation in South Africa through (1) stakeholder engagement and awareness of community well‐being, and (2) knowledge enrichment. Data collected through impact questionnaires, participatory site visits, practical work exchange, focus group discussions, and a workshop are analyzed using thematic analysis framed by the International Principles and Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration #1 and #2. We explore participants' perceptions of knowledge exchange benefits and discuss implications for future collaboration in establishing long‐term knowledge exchange. Findings show that knowledge exchange is perceived to result in enhanced teamwork engagement, and strengthened knowledge on restoration techniques through mutual learning, inspiration, and a strengthened sense of community. Findings suggest that sustained knowledge exchange and engagement activities between different practitioner organizations is key to realize and transform short‐term perceived benefits into long‐term applied socioecological impacts across landscapes in dryland Africa. There is a need to progress from short‐term, horizontal learning, to long‐term (horizontal and vertical) knowledge exchange, to inform restoration project design and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African countries face an economic transformation gap. Given the large and growing Chinese presence on the African continent, a fundamental question is whether Chinese firms contribute to, or hinder, economic transformation in Africa. This article conducts a scoping review of over one hundred sources, examining the pathways through which Chinese firms can affect economic transformation. On balance, the literature points to a positive role of Chinese firms. Africa–China trade leads to mixed results, while Chinese investment and infrastructure construction are found to contribute positively to transformation. Chinese firms are also found to support capacity building, spillovers and innovation in African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the central ethical tenets of research in developing countries is the sponsor's obligation to benefit host participants and communities. Two known models of benefits provision dominate the ethical discourse of research in developing countries. The first model, known as the "reasonable availability," endorses the obligation to provide interventions proven to be effective at the end of a study. This contrasts with the second model, known as "fair benefits," which endorses other forms of benefits that host communities may deem as fair beyond those derived directly from the study's findings. This paper explores a third benefit model consistent with the writings of the Human Hereditary and Health in Africa (H3Africa) research initiative. The H3Africa-a North-South collaborative initiative predicated by U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Wellcome Trust and the African Society of Human Genetics upholds a benefit model that endorses capacity building as the primary obligation of its research agenda. This is evident by the endorsement of mechanisms to strengthen capacity building in its research projects. While capacity building remains a plausible means of improving the expertise, quality and independence of research in Africa, sustainable measures are needed to realizing the full potential for African-led research on the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa harbours a rich biological diversity of native fish resources. Recognition of the potential to use these resources to make significant contributions towards improving African food security through aquaculture has existed for some time. A key challenge, however, is achieving compatibility between the two urgent, but sometimes conflicting, goals of reducing poverty and food insecurity in Africa through aquaculture development while paying due attention to the conservation of natural biodiversity and fish genetic resources (FiGR). In this paper we highlight the overarching challenges concerning the conservation and exploitation of FiGR for the long-term development of aquaculture for food production in Africa. We address the major issues requiring attention in genetic improvement programs in order to take full advantage of the highly diverse wild FiGR in Africa, and we expand on strategies such as zoning, environmental risk analysis and molecular characterization approaches that can be used to minimize the potential harm to wild FiGR arising from aquaculture activities and future development. Finally, we discuss the challenge of strengthening local capacity. The enhancement of local capacity is essential because it will enable the fundamental link required to achieve the desired outcome of increasing the productivity of aquatic animals for food in Africa in a sustainable manner. We trust that this paper will provide a good basis for an in-depth discussion of the subject, as well as guidance on future research and development priorities for the compatible exploitation and conservation of FiGR in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology has profoundly transformed current healthcare systems globally, owing to advances in hardware and software research innovations. Despite these advances, MRI remains largely inaccessible to clinicians, patients, and researchers in low‐resource areas, such as Africa. The rapidly growing burden of noncommunicable diseases in Africa underscores the importance of improving access to MRI equipment as well as training and research opportunities on the continent. The Consortium for Advancement of MRI Education and Research in Africa (CAMERA) is a network of African biomedical imaging experts and global partners, implementing novel strategies to advance MRI access and research in Africa. Upon its inception in 2019, CAMERA sets out to identify challenges to MRI usage and provide a framework for addressing MRI needs in the region. To this end, CAMERA conducted a needs assessment survey (NAS) and a series of symposia at international MRI society meetings over a 2‐year period. The 68‐question NAS was distributed to MRI users in Africa and was completed by 157 clinicians and scientists from across Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). On average, the number of MRI scanners per million people remained at less than one, of which 39% were obsolete low‐field systems but still in use to meet daily clinical needs. The feasibility of coupling stable energy supplies from various sources has contributed to the growing number of higher‐field (1.5 T) MRI scanners in the region. However, these systems are underutilized, with only 8% of facilities reporting clinical scans of 15 or more patients per day, per scanner. The most frequently reported MRI scans were neurological and musculoskeletal. The CAMERA NAS combined with the World Health Organization and International Atomic Energy Agency data provides the most up‐to‐date data on MRI density in Africa and offers a unique insight into Africa's MRI needs. Reported gaps in training, maintenance, and research capacity indicate ongoing challenges in providing sustainable high‐value MRI access in SSA. Findings from the NAS and focused discussions at international MRI society meetings provided the basis for the framework presented here for advancing MRI capacity in SSA. While these findings pertain to SSA, the framework provides a model for advancing imaging needs in other low‐resource settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursing metrics use indicators to make the outcomes of nursing care visible through measurement. Metrics must be sensitive to the context‐specific nature of nursing and should reflect the work that nurses really do. A workshop at the Building Children's Nursing conference (2019) was convened to develop statements of nursing care outcomes and actions specific to the work of children's nurses in African care settings, using the World Café method and the Nightingale Metrics approach. The process resulted in the development of statements as intended. Appropriate nursing metrics can guide data‐driven practice improvements and decision‐making about supporting the nursing workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Poverty reduction and sustainable development programmes lack a systematic, integrated approach that serves to frame issues, simplify complexity and guide action. Responding to five common challenges yields such an approach: 1) How diverse groups can work together effectively, mitigating power inequities and corruption; 2) How to prioritize problems more objectively; 3) How to build sufficient contextual understanding of problems; 4) How to compare alternative solutions for relative sustainability; and 5) How to build sufficient societal capacity to sustain solutions. The approach weaves together five strands: Social learning theory and participatory methods to build collaboration; Vulnerability theory to prioritize problems; Systems thinking to understand context; Sustainability assessment to compare alternative solutions; and integrated capacity building to sustain the preferred solution: SVSSC for short. Existing projects often fail to recognize several of these strands and synergy is not exploited, undermining progress. Globally, the approach seeks to strengthen Agenda 21 and Millennium Project plans that are prescriptive. The literature foundation is complemented by case study applications: urban industrial poverty and health risks in Massachusetts, USA (design and implementation using SVSSC); malaria in the Lake Victoria Region, East Africa (framing and design); and watershed stress in Central Mexico (framing and design). The SVSSC model can strengthen governance, can be scaled up or down, applied across different sectors, tailored to existing contexts yet remain adaptive to change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]