Introduction

Researchers from Gambia publish articles in international Open Access journals, 413 articles have been published with BioMed Central – an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the Open Access publishing model – and among them there are highly accessed articles by researchers from Medical Research Council Laboratories and International Trypanotolerance Centre. 131 articles have been published in Public Library of Science (PLoS) international Open Access journals: PLoS ONE, PLoS Medicine and  PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

There exists a need for the implementation of a national OA policy and institutional OA policies in Gambian universities to create the necessary conditions for building a national system that will ensure that all publicly funded research in Gambia becomes freely and openly available and that Gambian academia are not left behind in the global OA movement.

Availability and Use of Open Access Journals:

As of June 2015, a greater availability and use of open-source electronic journals has been put at the disposal of the University of the Gambia. listings of 16 websites were completed as part of the comprehensive library guide. Among the sites that offer free and Open Access are:

• Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA)

• Bioline international

• BioMed Central

• Chemistry Central

• Directory of Open Access Journals

• Free Medical Journals

• PhysMath Central

• SAGE-Hindawi

• The World Bank

The University of the Gambia library subscribes to many useful online databases such as:

• JSTOR

• Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI)

• Online Access to Research in the Environment (OARE)

• Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA)

• The essential Electronic Agricultural Library (TEEAL)

Publications

• Magee, L. A., A. Strang, L. Li, D. Tu, W. Tumtaweetikul, R. Craik, M. Daniele, A. K. Etyang, U. D’Alessandro, O. Ogochukwu, A. Roca, E. Sevene, P. Chin, C. Tchavana, M. Temmerman, P. Von Dadelszen, H. Jah, O. Oguchukwu, A. Prentice, M. Martinez-Alvarez, B. Diallo, A. Sesey, K. Lette, A. Bah, C. Sanyang, P. Musitia, M. Amondi, D. Chege, P. Okiro, G. Omuse, S. Wanyonyi, S. MacUacua, A. Vala, H. Boene, L. Quimice, S. MacUluve, E. MacEte, I. Mandomando, C. Carillho, M. Flint-O’kane, D. Russell, T. Makanga, L. Makacha, Y. Dube, N. Nyapwere, L. Poston, J. Sandall, R. Tribe, A. Shennan, S. Moore, T. Salisbury, B. Barratt, L. Chappell, S. Beevers, K. Bramham, A. Papageorgiou, A. Noble, H. Blencowe, V. Filippi, J. Lawn, M. Silver, M. Chico, J. Cartwright, G. Whitley, S. Krishna, M. Vidler, J. L. Li, J. Bone, M. L. M. Woo Kinshella, B. A. Payne, D. Tu, W. Tumtaweetikul, and W. Stones. 2020. “The PRECISE (PREgnancy Care Integrating Translational Science, Everywhere) Database: Open-Access Data Collection in Maternal and Newborn Health.” Reproductive Health 17. doi: 10.1186/s12978-020-0873-8.