How could an open-access, digital research platform of public health data revolutionize the research landscape in Afghanistan? It’s with this provocative thought exercise that the Afghanistan Journal of Public Health (AFJPH)—the first professional, peer-reviewed academic journal of its kind in Afghanistan–opens its 2017 issue. For Abdul Tawab Saljuqi, MD, MPH, the founding editor of the journal, this platform could enable deeper collaboration across sectors and borders, what he describes as the “essence of contemporary scientific advances.”
An experienced health journalist also trained in qualitative research design, Dr. Saljuqi’s close collaboration with Incubator Faculty Director Sue J. Goldie began years ago, during his tenure as the founding editor of AFJPH. It was while collaborating with Dr. Goldie on Global Health 2035: The Afghanistan Context that Saljuqi first conceived of the digital repository of public health data to fill a much-need gap within the Afghanistan research landscape. More recently, the Incubator welcomed Saljuqi for a week-long faculty immersion residency to brainstorm and prototype a series of educational tools that highlight interdisciplinary approaches to addressing “messy” public health problems across borders.
Goldie’s editorial in the latest issue of AFJPH acknowledges both the progress and challenges towards reaching these goals: “It is with both joy and sadness that I write this editorial. Joy in the realization of what has been accomplished by the public health community in Afghanistan against all odds – an academic journal, an editorial process, and an intellectual community committed to building an evidence base. Sadness in the reality of the contemporary context – continued geopolitical insecurity, severe economic constraints, and overwhelming social challenges.”
Special thanks go to the administrative teams at the Incubator and the Center for Health Decision Science at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who provided copy-editing and technical support for the latest issue. In particular, this present issue has benefited from the support provided by Dr. Eve Wittenberg and Dr. Djøra Soeteman, and the invaluable expertise of Megan Harding, who has provided layout and design for all three issues of the Afghanistan Journal of Public Health.