The report from the European and African Clinical Research Bibliometric analysis of publications within the scope of The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) 2003 – 2011, highlights MRC Unit The Gambia’s contribution towards reducing the global burden of diseases.
Globally, around 30,000 papers were published in malaria research and around 34,000 in tuberculosis. Research output was higher in neglected infectious disease research, around 45,000 papers, and much higher in HIV/AIDS 95,000 papers.

MRC Unit The Gambia participated in several projects funded by the EDCTP. This translated in 192 publications on malaria research, including 37 research publications for malaria clinical trials, 113 publications research on tuberculosis, 88 publications for HIV/AIDS and 63 publications on neglected infectious diseases, all with high citations.

The bibliometric evaluation of the research output of European and African researchers presents each disease area with a particular focus on identifying leading institutions, researchers and funding organisations.

Malaria
In sub-Saharan Africa, research on malaria has doubled over the last decade, MRC Unit The Gambia was identified as one of the main research collaborators.

Malaria accounted for nearly 30% of the research output of The Gambia and Mali. MRC Unit The Gambia stood out with an output of 192 papers and a high citation impact of 1.94 (Table 1).

Institutions in West Africa collaborating on malaria research with Europe

Institution
Country
Papers (N)
Citation impact

MRC Unit The Gambia
GMB
192
1.94

University of Bamako
MLI
105
2.27

University of Ghana
GHA
85
2.13

Centre national de recherche de Formation sur le Paludisme
BFA
73
1.91

Centre de Recherche Entomologique de Cotonou
BEN
72
2.22

Institut Pasteur
SEN
71
1.48

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
GHA
67
1.55

Cheikh Anta Diop University
SEN
64
1.91

University of Ibadan
NGA
58
1.17

Ministry of Health
GHA
56
2.22

Burkina Faso Health Sciences Research Institute
BFA
55
1.63

Université d’Abomey-Calavi
BEN
45
1.23

Centre MURAZ
BFA
41
1.49

University of Cocody-Abidjan
CIV
41
2.15

Nouna Health Research Centre
BFA
39
0.68

Ministry of Health
BFA
33
1.67

IRD
SEN
32
2.32

Swiss Academy of Science
CIV
31
2.66

University of Ouagadougou
BFA
30
1.58

Organization for the Fight Against Endemic Diseases in Central Africa
SEN
27
1.69

Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital
GHA
26
2.02

Institut Pierre Richet
CIV
23
1.78

Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine
GHA
23
1.25

University for Development Studies
GHA
22
1.31

University of Nigeria
NGA
20
0.79

Clinical trials and epidemiology research
Epidemiology-related research accounted for 17.7% of global malaria research, but twice that percentage for sub-Saharan Africa’s output (36.1%).

Clinical trials research accounted for 5.4% of global malaria research. In West Africa, MRC Unit The Gambia, accounts for 37 research publications with high citation of 2.99 in malaria clinical trials.(Table 2).

Institutions involved in sub-Saharan African clinical trials research, malaria

Institution
Country
Papers (N)
Citation impact

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
UK
137
3.38

Makerere University
UGA
58
2.46

KEMRI, Kisumu
KEN
54
2.33

University of Bamako
MLI
50
2.57

University of Oxford
UK
49
3.65

WHO
CHE
46
2.31

Albert Schweitzer Hospital
GAB
42
1.98

KEMRI, Kilifi
KEN
42
3.39

University of Tübingen (Eberhard Karl)
DEU
41
1.84

University of Ibadan
NGA
38
1.52

KEMRI, Nairobi
KEN
37
2.16

MRC Unit The Gambia
GMB
37
2.99

Ifakara Health Institute
TZA
34
2.98

UMC Amsterdam
NLD
34
1.72

GlaxoSmithKline
BEL
33
5.27

University of Barcelona
ESP
32
3.30

National Institute for Medical Research
TZA
30
3.77

Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute, Basel
CHE
30
3.31

University of Liverpool
UK
29
1.67

Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp
BEL
28
1.96

Manhica Health Research Centre
MOZ
28
2.96

Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences
TZA
28
2.52

University College Hospital, Ibadan
NGA
28
1.12

Karolinska University Hospital
SWE
26
1.67

Ministry of Health
MOZ
26
3.36

Cheikh Anta Diop University
SEN
24
2.10

University of Copenhagen
DNK
24
3.36

Ministry of Health
UGA
22
1.70

University of Khartoum
SDN
21
1.05

Epicentre
FRA
20
1.94

Karolinska Institutet
SWE
20
1.44

Ministry of Health
GHA
20
3.29

Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis research output in West Africa accounts for 481 papers of which MRC Unit The Gambia produced 113 with a citation impact of 1.78 (Table 3).

As an institution in West Africa collaborating on tuberculosis research with Europe, MRC Unit The Gambia produced 73 research publications with a citation impact of 1.89. (Table 3)

Country data for tuberculosis research in West Africa

National tuberculosis research
Collaborative tuberculosis research

UN Short Code
Papers (N)
Citation impact
% National research
Papers (N)
Citation impact
% National research

BEN
27
0.77
2.2%
26
0.80
96.3%

BFA
23
0.53
1.4%
18
0.64
78.3%

CIV
44
1.46
3.0%
29
2.14
65.9%

CPV
1
0.00
2.4%
0
0.00
0.0%

GHA
69
1.92
2.5%
53
1.86
76.8%

GIN
13
2.17
7.0%
12
2.33
92.3%

GMB
113
1.78
15.2%
73
1.89
64.6%

GNB
46
1.49
24.7%
45
1.51
97.8%

LBR
1
2.91
2.5%
1
2.91
100.0%

MLI
17
1.41
1.9%
9
2.44
52.9%

MRT
1
0.09
0.6%
0
0.00
0.0%

NER
1
0.00
0.2%
1
0.00
100.0%

NGA
132
0.54
0.9%
34
1.01
25.8%

SEN
47
1.21
2.1%
30
1.74
63.8%

SLE
1
0.63
0.9%
1
0.63
100.0%

TGO
5
0.14
1.3%
1
0.00
20.0%

HIV/AIDS
The relative burden of HIV/AIDS in The Gambia is lower than elsewhere in West Africa. MRC Unit The Gambia is a major European collaborating partner with 88 publications (Table 4) compared to other institutions in West Africa who are collaborating on HIV/AIDS research with Europe.

Institutions in West Africa collaborating on HIV/AIDS research with Europe

Institution
Country
Papers (N)
Citation impact

MRC Unit The Gambia
GMB
88
1.36

ANRS
CIV
86
1.62

Treichville University Hospital Centre
CIV
73
1.39

Centre MURAZ
BFA
57
1.45

Aristide Le Dantec University Hospital Centre
SEN
35
1.06

Fann University Hospital Centre
SEN
27
1.45

Yopougon University Hospital Centre
CIV
26
1.47

ACONDA-VS
CIV
24
1.57

Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital
GHA
22
0.72

Ministry of Health
SEN
22
1.06

Project RETRO-C1
CIV
22
1.18

Ministry of Health
BFA
20
0.76

Neglected Infectious Diseases (NIDs)
In Anglophone West Africa, almost all of The Gambia’s research is collaborative with Europe, mostly through the MRC Unit The Gambia, producing the second highest publications with a high citation of 1.66.

Institutions in West Africa collaborating on NIDs research with Europe

Institution
Country
Papers (N)
Citation impact

CIRDES
BFA
68
1.48

MRC Unit The Gambia
GMB
63
1.66

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
GHA
54
1.51

Ministry of Health
GHA
48
1.57

University of Cocody-Abidjan
CIV
43
2.56

University of Ghana
GHA
38
1.13

Swiss Academy of Science
CIV
37
2.85

Ministry of Health
BEN
32
1.16

Ministry of Health
BFA
32
1.83

Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine
GHA
28
1.78

Conclusion
The analysis derived from the peer-reviewed journals between 2003 and 2011 shows the degree of high impact journals produced by MRC Unit The Gambia and its impact in controlling infectious diseases of public health importance in West Africa and the sub-Saharan.

Access the report on the EDTCP website on http://www.edctp.org/web/app/uploads/2015/08/Bibliometrics_report_web.p…
http://www.edctp.org/web/app/uploads/2015/08/Bibliometrics_report_web.p…
EDCTP was formed in 2003 as a European response to the global health crisis caused by the three main poverty-related diseases: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. These diseases account for over 6 million deaths each year, with the greatest burden of disease in sub-Saharan Africa, where besides being the leading causes of morbidity and mortality, they impede development and cause poverty.