EDITORIAL: An overview of the <i>African Journal of AIDS Research</i> and its future direction

Abstract

The African Journal of AIDS Research (AJAR) is a peer-reviewed research journal. It was established in Grahamstown, South Africa, by the Centre for AIDS, Development Research and Evaluation (CADRE) in 2002 and published by local publishers NISC (Pty) Ltd. Dr Kevin Kelly was the founding editor. After receiving support from a variety of sources, including the Health Economics and HIV and AIDS Research Division (HEARD), the journal was given core funding for a period by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). This allowed it to be firmly established as a leading journal in its field. In 2013 there was a considerable backlog of manuscripts and the journal needed a change in leadership to build on the work of Dr Kelly. I (Alan Whiteside) was invited to become the editor-in-chief and take the journal into HEARD. Due to the need to get AJAR back on track, Gavin George, Tim Quinlan and Kaymarlin Govender, all of HEARD, were invited (perhaps co-opted would be a better term) as associate editors. We began a process of moving manuscripts through the process as rapidly as possible. Within a year the journal was up to date, and the cover noted that the journal was “Published in association with the Health Economics and HIV/AIDS Research Division (HEARD), University of KwaZulu-Natal”. AJAR continues to be published by NISC (Pty) Ltd, a publisher of premier scholarly research products. NISC aims to promote African scholarship to a global academic audience through print and digital publication. The journal’s mission remains to publish papers that make an original contribution to the understanding of the social dimensions of HIV and AIDS in African contexts. The quality of the journal and its relevance in the field is recognised by its inclusion in the prestigious Medline™ and Web of Science® indexes.

All research articles in this journal, including those in special issues, special sections or supplements, undergo rigorous peer review based on initial editor screening and anonymous peer review. All submitted papers are referred by at least two qualified referees and the review process is overseen by the Associate Editors and Editor-in-Chief.