Ezeh, Alex Chika, Izugbara, Chimaraoke O., Kabiru, Caroline W., Fonn, Sharon, Kahn, Kathleen, Manderson, Lenore, Undieh, Ashiwel S., Omigbodun, A. O. and Thorogood, Margaret (2010) Building capacity for public and population health research in Africa : the consortium for advanced research training in Africa (CARTA) model. Global Health Action, Vol.3 . doi:10.3402/gha.v3i0.5693 ISSN 1654-9880.

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Abstract

Background: Globally, sub-Saharan Africa bears the greatest burden of disease. Strengthened research
capacity to understand the social determinants of health among different African populations is key to
addressing the drivers of poor health and developing interventions to improve health outcomes and health
systems in the region. Yet, the continent clearly lacks centers of research excellence that can generate a strong
evidence base to address the region’s socio-economic and health problems.
Objective and program overview: We describe the recently launched Consortium for Advanced Research
Training in Africa (CARTA), which brings together a network of nine academic and four research institutions
from West, East, Central, and Southern Africa, and select northern universities and training institutes.
CARTA’s program of activities comprises two primary, interrelated, and mutually reinforcing objectives: to
strengthen research infrastructure and capacity at African universities; and to support doctoral training
through the creation of a collaborative doctoral training program in population and public health. The
ultimate goal of CARTA is to build local research capacity to understand the determinants of population
health and effectively intervene to improve health outcomes and health systems.
Conclusions: CARTA’s focus on the local production of networked and high-skilled researchers committed to
working in sub-Saharan Africa, and on the concomitant increase in local research and training capacity of
African universities and research institutes addresses the inability of existing programs to create a critical
mass of well-trained and networked researchers across the continent. The initiative’s goal of strengthening
human resources and university-wide systems critical to the success and sustainability of research
productivity in public and population health will rejuvenate institutional teaching, research, and administrative
systems.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa, Public health -- Research -- Africa, Sub-Saharan, Medical education -- Africa, Sub-Saharan
Journal or Publication Title:	Global Health Action
Publisher:	Co-Action Publishing
ISSN:	1654-9880
Official Date:	12 November 2010
Dates:	Date Event 12 November 2010 Published
Volume:	Vol.3
DOI:	10.3402/gha.v3i0.5693
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access (Creative Commons)
Funder:	Wellcome Trust (London, England), Great Britain. Dept. for International Development, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Ford Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation
Grant number:	087547/Z/08/Z (Wellcome), B 8606 (Carnegie), 1100-0399 (Ford), 51228 (Gates), 2009-4051 (Hewlett), 2009 SCG 302 (Rockefeller)

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