African primary care research: Current situation, priorities and capacity building

Abstract

The Sixth PRIMAFAMED (Primary Health Care/Family Medicine Education Network) workshop on ‘Capacity Building and Priorities in Primary Care Research’ was held in Pretoria, South Africa (SA), from 22 to 24 June 2014. Delegates from the following countries attended the workshop: Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, SA, Zambia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Mozambique, Swaziland, Belgium, and Denmark (Figure 1). Delegates were from established or emerging departments of family medicine and primary care in these countries. The central theme of the workshop was primary care research – the current situation, the priorities for research and the need for capacity building. This report gives a summary of the consensus on these matters that emerged from the workshop. The motivation for the conference was derived in part from the involvement of Professor Bob Mash (SA) and Professor Olayinka Ayankogbe (Nigeria) in the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) Global Working Party on Primary Care Research, which has a goal of promoting primary care research.