For over 20 years, BMJ Group has championed underrepresented voices in research. Since introducing full article processing charge (APC) waivers in 2022, we've granted 70% more waivers to authors from low and middle-income countries compared to the three years before the policy began. In the past year alone, nearly 10% of the open access research we published came from LMIC authors.
We also participate in the HINARI programme, part of the Research4Life (R4L) initiative, which provides free or low-cost access to its medical journals for institutions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This partnership helps over 11,000 institutions across 125 countries access the best available, evidence-based medical content to support research, education, and clinical practice in these regions.
Nearly 95% of all LMIC-originated research was published open access this year
Up from 36% in 2021 and 56% in 2022, closing the knowledge gap.*
In August 2021, Dr Bruce Kirenga and his team at the Makerere University Lung Institute published a pivotal study in BMJ Open Respiratory Research on the efficacy of convalescent plasma for covid-19 treatment in Uganda.
The study's findings on the limited efficacy of convalescent plasma (CP) helped shape major treatment guidelines. In Therapeutics and COVID-19: Living guideline, the World Health Organization (WHO) strongly advises against CP for all severity levels of covid-19 due to limited benefit and potential safety risks. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) similarly recommends against CP outside of clinical trials, except in rare cases involving immunocompromised patients. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) also discourages routine use, supporting a shift towards more effective therapies like antivirals and monoclonal antibodies.
"Open access publishing ensures the publications are available to everyone, including scientists and policymakers in low-resourced settings."
Dr Bruce Kirenga,
Chief research scientist and founding director of the Makerere University Lung Institute (MLI)
Compared to most publications in the biomedical and clinical sciences field, which usually receive 2-3 citations, this study stands out with 32 citations. Twenty-four policy documents and two clinical guidelines across four countries also reference it. These numbers highlight the significant impact this research has on evidence-based global health practices.
Dr Kirenga and his team chose open access to ensure their research reached a global audience without barriers, facilitating faster dissemination of critical findings. Making their work freely available enabled healthcare professionals and policymakers in LMICs to access the latest evidence on affordable and accessible therapies.
