Book Title: Africa's Knowledge Bridge: Empowering Global Access to Research Resources in a COVID World

Book Description

​The aim of this book is to provide a one-stop repository for first-hand evidence on COVID, eliminating concerns about payments and subscriptions for people in developing countries. For the past three years, alongside a dedicated group of fellow Africans, many from universities across the continent, Western Sydney University academics have spearheaded comprehensive COVID-19 research. Their findings have been published in Q1 open access journals, but despite this accessibility, colleagues in Africa have faced challenges in accessing these vital resources for various reasons ranging from lack of stable internet for download and inexperience in searching databases. Responding to numerous requests for PDF copies, we have worked with Western Sydney University Library to create a solution in the form of an open textbook. To effortlessly download any article at your convenience, Western Sydney University Library has collaborated to ensure these resources are globally accessible through this book.

This text contributes to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• Goal 3 Good health and well-being: The comprehensive COVID-19 research conducted by the group of Africans and Western Sydney University Academics contributes to understanding and addressing health challenges, aligning with the goal of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages.
• Goal 4 Quality education: The creation of an open textbook to provide accessible resources addresses the goal of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.
• Goal 9 Industry, innovation, and infrastructure: The efforts to create a solution for accessing research findings through an open textbook align with the goal of building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation.
• Goal 10 Reduced inequality: By ensuring that colleagues in Africa have access to the same resources, regardless of their internet access or experience in searching databases, the initiative contributes to reducing inequalities both within and among countries.
• Goal 17 Partnerships for the goals: Collaboration between Western Sydney University Academics, the university library, and colleagues in Africa represents the goal of revitalizing the global partnership for sustainable development, where stakeholders work together to achieve common objectives.