Report of the United Nations High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines

21st September 2016By Linda CilliersPolicy, Public Voice No Comments
Report of the United Nations High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines

The recently released report by the UN High Level Panel on Access to Medicines provides several recommendations for making publicly-funded research more widely available, calling for universities and research institutions that receive public funding to prioritise public health objectives over financial returns in their patenting and licensing practices. This, of course, is particularly interesting against the backdrop of South Africa’s legislative mandate to commercialise the output of publicly-financed research and development activities, as stipulated in the country’s legislation.

Experiences of a student at mid-project workshop

12th September 2016By Linda CilliersPublic Voice, Teaching No Comments
Experiences of a student at mid-project workshop

Scholars shared experiences of the challenges they faced when trying to study the policies of their countries. Scholars from Botswana, for instance, spoke of how difficult it was to access information held by the state and to interview public officials. In Uganda, on the other hand, scholars had no problem accessing the policy, but found that it was poorly, if rarely, executed.

Reflections on SARUA Leadership Dialogue on Open Access

19th May 2016By Linda CilliersPublic Voice No Comments
Reflections on SARUA Leadership Dialogue on Open Access

What needs to be done to achieve an enabling policy environment and the necessary technical infrastructure and professional skills in Southern Africa to foster the effective communication and publication of African scholarship? What benefits would accrue from more effective communication of the scholarship in the region? What would the region gain?