How Can the Operating Environment for Nutrition Research Be Improved in Sub-Saharan Africa? The Views of African Researchers

被引:12
作者
Van Royen, Kathleen [1 ,2 ]
Lachat, Carl [1 ,2 ]
Holdsworth, Michelle [3 ]
Smit, Karlien [4 ]
Kinabo, Joyce [5 ]
Roberfroid, Dominique [2 ]
Nago, Eunice [6 ]
Orach, Christopher Garimoi [7 ]
Kolsteren, Patrick [1 ,2 ]
机构
[1] Univ Ghent, Dept Food Safety & Food Qual, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
[2] Inst Trop Med, Unit Nutr & Child Hlth, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium
[3] Univ Sheffield, ScHARR Sect Publ Hlth, Sheffield, S Yorkshire, England
[4] North West Univ, Africa Unit Transdisciplinary Hlth Res, Potchefstroom, South Africa
[5] Sokoine Univ, Dept Food Sci & Technol, Morogoro, Tanzania
[6] Univ Abomey Calavi, Fac Agr Sci, Abomey Calavi, Benin
[7] Makerere Univ, Sch Publ Hlth, Kampala, Uganda
关键词
PUBLIC-HEALTH NUTRITION; CHILD UNDERNUTRITION; DEVELOPING-COUNTRIES;
D O I
10.1371/journal.pone.0066355
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
Optimal nutrition is critical for human development and economic growth. Sub-Saharan Africa is facing high levels of food insecurity and only few sub-Saharan African countries are on track to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. Effective research capacity is crucial for addressing emerging challenges and designing appropriate mitigation strategies in sub-Saharan Africa. A clear understanding of the operating environment for nutrition research in sub-Saharan Africa is a much needed prerequisite. We collected data on the barriers and requirements for conducting nutrition research in sub-Saharan Africa through semi-structured interviews with 144 participants involved in nutrition research in 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. A total of 133 interviews were retained for coding. The main barriers identified for effective nutrition research were the lack of funding due to poor recognition by policymakers of the importance of nutrition research and under-utilisation of research findings for developing policy, as well as an absence of research priority setting from within Africa. Current research topics were perceived to be mainly determined by funding bodies from outside Africa. Nutrition researchers argued for more commitment from policymakers at national level. The low capacity for nutrition research was mainly seen as a consequence of insufficient numbers of nutrition researchers, limited skills and a poor research infrastructure. In conclusion, African nutrition researchers argued how research priorities need to be identified by African stakeholders, accompanied by consensus building to enable creating a problem-driven national research agenda. In addition, it was considered necessary to promote interactions among researchers, and between researchers and policymakers. Multidisciplinary research and international and cross-African collaboration were seen as crucial to build capacity in sub-Saharan nutrition research.
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页数:9
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