Open access is a powerful solution to the barriers that researchers in developing and transition countries face trying to access and share critical research that can improve people’s lives. In this video, Dr Bessie Mukami explains how open access is helping her to solve the challenges she faces as a doctor located in a remote clinic in eastern Kenya. 

Mukami is just one of many who can now access more research online through the 'Open access: knowledge sharing and sustainable scholarly communication in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda' project. The 18-month project educated researchers, students and health workers about changing scholarly communication landscapes. It advocated for the adoption of open access policies and mandates by research funding agencies, universities and research organizations to help make peer-reviewed research output openly available. It also built capacity to set up open access repositories and to publish open access journals. 

The project was implemented by EIFL in partnership with its partner consortia, Kenya Library & Information Services Consortium (KLISC), Consortium of Tanzania Universities and Research Libraries (COTUL) and Consortium of Uganda University Libraries (CUUL). The project was funded by Spider, the Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions DSV, Department of Computer and System Sciences, Stockholm University and the Open Society Foundations (OSF).