A protocol for a comparative bibliometric analysis of infectious disease research in Africa

Evidence on authorship trends of health research conducted about or in Africa shows that there is a lack of local researchers in the first and last authorship positions, with high income country collaborations taking up these positions. The differences in authorship calls into question the power imbalances in global health research and who benefits from the production of new discoveries and innovation. Moreover, health studies may go on to inform policy and clinical practice within the region having an impact on public health. The COVID-19 pandemic required a global effort and collaboration in developing mitigation strategies to contain the spread of the disease globally. Strategies used that were useful in decreasing the spread of COVID-19 had an immense impact on health policy and human health. We will conduct a bibliometric analysis comparing authorship for COVID-19 research during a public health emergency with authorship for other infectious diseases of relevance to Africa namely: Ebola, Zika Virus (ZIKV), Tuberculosis (TB) and Influenza.