Five librarians from Research4Life countries will build capacity in their region
The Medical Library Association (MLA) and the Elsevier Foundation have announced the recipients of the 2020 MLA Librarians without Borders®/ Elsevier Foundation/ Research4Life Grants. Read all about their projects below.
The grants enable information specialists to provide Research4Life trainings in emerging and low-income countries. The goal is to develop a community of librarians that can continue to train researchers at their institutions and beyond, to make sure researchers in eligible countries are equipped to use Research4Life effectively. The grants are funded by the Elsevier Foundation.
Meet the winners
Fred Kwaku Hayibor, University of Health and Allied Sciences in Hohoe, Ghana
Two training workshops will be organized for librarians, clinicians, lecturers, researchers, students and policymakers in the health and agricultural sciences in Ghana’s Volta region. The first workshop will train staff from fifteen higher education and governmental agencies. The second workshop will train faculty and postgraduate students from the University of Medicine and Allied Health. The goal is to increase the knowledge and skills to use Research4Life to improve the quality, quantity and global competitiveness of health and agricultural research in the Volta region of Ghana.
Deodatus Sabas, Muhumbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Deodatus Sabas will organize a five-day workshop at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS). The aim is to increase the usage of Research4Life and thus enhance evidence-based practices for better healthcare. The training will focus on evidence-based principles and systematic reviews and will be led by experts from the MUHAS Library in collaboration with relevant schools and departments, including experienced medical librarians and medical researchers.
Francina Ngula Simataa Makondo, University of Zambia in Lusaka, Zambia
This training will focus on providing information searching skills and promote the use of online health, development and legal information available through Research4Life. The first workshop will be a Hinari train-the-trainers event for health professionals in the Livingstone region. The second one will take place in Lusaka and will focus on the resources in GOALI and ARDI for legal researchers, judges and legal experts. It will also reach governmental agencies and institutions of higher learning.
Biliamin Oladele Popoola, University of Medical Sciences in Ondo City, Nigeria
The project aims to enhance the skills of health information professionals across Nigeria. It has three phases: (i) A continuing education course for health sciences librarians, which will raise a cohort experts on literature support for medical education, research and practice; (ii) A workshop for medical librarians on conducting systematic reviews in resource-limited settings, conducted during the annual conference of the Medical Library Association of Nigeria in November 2020 and (iii) A Research4Life workshop for academic staff and researchers at the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo City, Nigeria.
Chandra Bhushan Yadav; Nepal Health Research Council in Kathmandu, Nepal
Bhushan will organize a four-day training at the Nepal Health Research Council in Kathmandu. The goal is to teach participants from the government and higher education institutions how to locate, access, manage and retrieve Research4Life resources. This will result in a group of trainer teams who can be experts at their institutions. Competency-based training will be stressed, so that knowledge and skills learned will support the mandates of the educational institutions and ministries.
Ready to apply for the 2021 grants?
Find more information on the MLA website: the applications will open in August 2020, and the completed online form and supporting documents must be received by December 1, 2020.
