AFRO-NETS> Review of Essential Textbooks for Health Professionals in Africa

[Roger Drew <rogerdrew@rogerdrew.free-online.co.uk>]

Review of Essential Textbooks for Health Professionals in Africa
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Dear colleagues,

I am contacting you in connection with a review I am carrying out on 
behalf of BookPower. The aim of this review is to come up with a list 
of textbooks that are considered essential for the effective training 
of health professionals in Africa. BookPower will then seek to make 
these books more available by offering them at subsidised prices.

BookPower is a registered UK charity. It seeks to make available the 
best, most relevant, textbooks to university and vocational students in 
37 low-income countries in English-speaking Africa, the Indian sub-
continent and the Caribbean, at prices which they and their institu-
tion's libraries can afford. Until March 2002, BookPower was known as 
ELST (Educational Low-Priced Sponsored Texts). ELST was set up as a 
charity in December 1996 in response to a clamour from academics and 
students in low income countries disturbed by the decision of the Brit-
ish government to close the scheme, ELBS, which it had funded since 
1960. More details of BookPower and its work are available from its 
website:
http://www.bookpower.org

This review consists of three parts. The first part will review Book-
Power's work to date and its current practices. It will also seek to 
define which health professionals and what levels of their training 
should be included within the scope of BookPower's work. It will also 
consider the new context in which BookPower is now working looking spe-
cifically at what other organizations are doing in this field and the 
effect of other environmental factors on the field, such as the emer-
gence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The review will then focus on four countries in particular. Ghana, 
Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia have been selected for this purpose. These 
country-specific case studies will look at what courses are offered to 
the groups of health professionals identified in the first part of the 
review. This will include collecting information on the curricula fol-
lowed and any recommended reading lists. It will also consider what 
books are currently available locally and how students currently fund 
textbook purchases. It will also consider general country context such 
as national government priorities on health.

Finally, the review will consider countries which might be thought of 
as special cases. South Africa and Botswana have been selected for this 
purpose as South Africa has historically been excluded from Book-
Power/ELST activities for a number of reasons. Some of these reasons 
also apply to Botswana These reasons will be explored and reviewed. 
This will include looking at the likely impact of BookPower schemes on 
local publishing and the feasibility of BookPower working in coopera-
tion with local publishers.

The bulk of the work of this review will be conducted by e-mail, sup-
ported by some telephone conversations. Preliminary comments on any of 
the issues covered by this review would be welcomed. In particular, it 
would be helpful to have the names and contact details of any people 
who might be able to usefully contribute to this review. If you would 
like to be involved in this review please contact me on 
<roger@mendlesham.fsnet.co.uk>. Any comments you have or contributions 
you wish to make can also be sent to me at the same address.

Many thanks,

Roger Drew
Health and Development Consultant
9a The Green
Mendlesham Green
Stowmarket, IP14 5RQ, UK
Tel: +44-1449-768947
Fax: +44-1449-767868
Mobile: +44-781-275-3152
mailto:roger@mendlesham.fsnet.co.uk

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