Advance science in Africa through open access journals
Researchers and scholars want publishers to increase the volume of available free-access journals to boost research and knowledge production during the COVID-19 pandemic. This, they say, will particularly benefit poor institutions and budding scientists from low-income countries.
They also want the restricted journals to urgently waive publishing fees to give early-career scientists and young scholars the opportunity to publish in prestigious and reputable publications.
While noting that many publishers had turned their journals into open-access publications since the outbreak of COVID-19, panellists at the virtual Global Gathering of the Next Einstein Forum, from 8 to 10 December, want this temporary waiver extended beyond 2021.