Dear HIFA colleagues,
Thank you, Neil, for framing this important question.
If I were to design an Open Access (OA) system, I would focus on *equity, usability, and sustainability* as its central pillars. Open access should not only remove paywalls but also ensure that knowledge is *reachable, understandable, and usable* across different contexts - from global research institutions to the most remote health facilities.
A few thoughts for consideration:
*Equity in authorship and readership:* Ensure that researchers and practitioners in low- and middle-income countries can publish and access without financial barriers, possibly through global or regional APC funds supported by governments and donors.
*Practical usability:* Embed collaboration between journals, communities of practice, and health ministries so that open-access research is translated into guidelines, policy briefs, and frontline job aids.
*Language and accessibility:* Encourage multilingual abstracts and summaries to make OA content more inclusive.
*Sustainability:* Promote transparent APC capping and collective negotiations between funders and publishers to prevent cost escalation.
In short, an ideal OA system would combine *openness with purpose* ensuring that the global flow of knowledge leads to local impact.
Warm regards,
*Rabia Khaji*
Tanzania | HIFA Open Access Working Group
*Ms. Rabia A. Khaji*
Head of MEL and TB Portfolio
*SHDEPHA**+* *Network*, Igomelo Street, plot no 114, P.O.BOX 564, Kahama,
Shinyanga, Tanzania, Tel: +255 753 554 558, Mobile: +255 684 457 865
Skype ID: RabiaAbeid Twitter:@rabia_abeid Instagram: abeidrabia
Email: rabiabeid@gmail.com /rabia.abeid@
https://shdepha.org/
"Together We Are*
Hope and Life"*
HIFA profile: Rabia Abeid Khaji is the Head of Monitoring and Evaluation and TB Portfolio at SHDEPHA+ in Tanzania. Her professional work is fundamentally centered on overcoming barriers to health information access, particularly for healthcare professionals and vulnerable communities in low-resource settings. Her experience includes: - Gender and Equity Focus: She recently led a comprehensive TB gender assessment for Tanzania and contributed to the national TB Gender Operational Plan, directly engaging with the challenges of equitable access to health information and publishing.[...] She is a member of the HIFA Open Access working group. https://www.hifa.org/support/members/rabia rabiabeid AT gmail.com