Background: The training of African scientists in informatics, research methods and global health is essential to the long term development of an African health agenda and meaningful collaboration with cutting-edge research projects of the developed world. Further, the development of an informatics infrastructure within a country is essential to many government agencies and their ability to monitor the health status of the population. Objectives: This grant provides long-term, medium-term, and short-term informatics training to the employees of the research, academic and governmental institutions of Mall with the ultimate goal of becoming a Center of Excellence in informatics training in global health for West Africa. Methods: Informatics specialists based in Mali and at Tulane will develop training programs at the masters and doctoral degree level, advanced specialty training and a wide variety of short-term courses. Topics for the short-term training will include informatics components of biostatistics, geographic information systems, management information systems, data base management, genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, computer applications and network administration to provide linkage to the following research areas: clinical trials, entomology studies, epidemiologic studies, molecular biology and clinical studies.
