Introduction

Researchers from Burundi publish articles in international Open Access journals, for example 11 articles have been published with BioMed Central – an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the Open Access publishing model – by researchers from Department of Research, National Centre for HIV Reference; HIV-clinic (CPAMP-CHUK), Bujumbura University Hospital; Department of Medicine, Association Nationale de Soutien aux Séropositifs (ANSS); Department of Medicine, Society of Women Against AIDS (SWAA); Department of Medicine, Nouvelle Espérance; Department of Mathematics, Institute of Applied Pedagogy, University of Burundi; Population Services International/Burundi; National Malaria Control Programme, Ministry of Health; Hopital de Kiremba; Burundi Country Office, HealthNet TPO; Ecole Normale Supérieure; Projet Maladies Tropicales Négligées; and Programme de Lutte contre les Maladies Transmissibles et Carentielles, Ministry of Health.

PLoS ONE – an international, peer-reviewed, OA journal published by the Public Library of Science (PLoS) – published an article by researchers from Programme de Lutte contre les Maladies Transmissibles et Carentielles, Ministry of Health.

The African Health Observatory (AHO) indicates that in Burundi, OA journals in the field of public health exist mostly in different documentation centers of the Ministry of Public Health and other institutions working in the health sector. These include academic institutions, health research institutions and healthcare partners agencies (WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNAIDS, etc.). These journals are used by medical students and other paramedical higher education institutes. Most of these journals are consulted by professional staff and health personnel training institutions.

Accessibility to journals that are published only online , becomes restricted due to poor access to ICT tools and low capacity to use them.

Other journals that are not in the health field are accessible in some documentation centers, including cultural cooperation agencies. However, this does not satisfy all the demand.

There exists a need to establish a national OA policy as well as institutional and funder OA mandates.