The African Journal of Reproductive Health is a multidisciplinary and international journal that publishes original research, comprehensive review articles, short reports and commentaries on reproductive health in Africa. The journal strives to provide a forum for African authors, as well as others working in Africa, to share findings on all aspects of reproductive health and to disseminate innovative, relevant and useful information on reproductive health throughout the continent.

Type of Articles

The journal will publish original research, review articles, short reports and commentaries. A cover page should accompany each manuscript and should include:

(1) the Title and sub-title (running title -- no more than 5 words);
(2) the name(s) of the author(s);
(3) the affiliation(s) of the author(s);

(4) Abstract;  
(5) three to six Keywords for indexing and retrieval purposes; and

(6) Corresponding author's email address and telephone number.

Original Research — The journal welcomes articles reporting on original research, including both quantitative and qualitative studies. Full-length articles should generally not exceed 35 typed, double-spaced pages, excluding tables, figures, and references. The subject matter should be organised under appropriate headings and sub-headings such as: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Acknowledgements.

Review Articles — Comprehensive review articles on all aspects of reproductive health in Africa will also be considered for publication in the journal. Reviews should provide a thorough overview of the topic and should incorporate the most current research. The length of review articles and the organisational headings and sub-headings used are at the author’s discretion.

Short Reports — Brief descriptions of preliminary research findings or interesting case studies will be considered for publication as short reports. The length and organisation of short reports are left to the author’s discretion.

Commentaries — Commentaries or editorials on any aspect of reproductive health in Africa will be considered for publication in the journal. Opinion pieces need not reference previous research, but rather reflect the opinions of the author(s).

Submission of Manuscripts

All manuscripts should be in their final form when submitted, and should be submitted in triplicate. Authors may mail manuscripts to the journal’s editorial office at the following address:

The Editor
African Journal of Reproductive Health

Women’s Health and Action Research Centre

Igue-Iheya Village, Benin-Lagos Express Road

P. O. Box 10231, Ugbowo, Benin City

E-mail: wharc@hyperia.com or  african-journal@yahoo.co.uk

No faxed submissions will be accepted. A covering letter accompanying the manuscript should certify that the article has not been previously published and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. All authors are advised to submit an electronic copy along with a hard copy of their manuscript, as this will spare remarkable time in the reviewing and typesetting processes.
The journal will publish manuscripts written in English or French. AJRH will ensure that abstracts of all published papers are translated into English or French, and that both versions accompany the manuscript.

Uniform Requirements

All manuscripts should be typed on A4 paper size with 1.25 inches margin on all sides. The preferred font for entire text is “Times New Romans”. 

Abstract — Articles and short reports should be accompanied by an abstract of not more than 180 words. The abstract should provide a concise description of the objectives of the study, methods used and major findings and conclusion.

Body — The body of manuscripts reporting on original research should be organised under appropriate headings and sub-headings such as Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Authors of review articles and short reports are requested to organise the body of their manuscripts using headings and sub-headings appropriate to the material and discipline represented.

Tables and figures: Use 9 points font size all through. Data in Tables MUST be provided in the cells inside Tables and aligned to the left. The Tables should be in single line paragraphing and “0” spacing. An example is shown in Table 1:

Table 1: Distribution of educational status of clients

The use of TABS and Spacing between lines using line should be avoided. Attempts should be made to provide each Table in such a way that it will fit into one-half column on a page. Any Table that can fit into half column of a page must not be stretched into entire width of page. Table must be in usual grid in Table format. You must not use spaces to create demarcation between lines inside table.

Figures: Images should preferably be reduced to a width of about half of A4 size paper (with 1.25 inches margins) with very clear text (if any) of about 9-12 points. Larger images are acceptable provided that the sizes are justifiable and if there is need to reduce the sizes, any text will not be less than 9 points in size when reduced. As much as possible, figures labels should be such that they should not be less than 9 points in size when reduced to a width of about 2.5 inches. All images (picture) must be of high-resolution and of sufficient quality for both archival and print purposes. Images in which colors are not realistic, text is illegible, or images are pixilated will be rejected. Unless the authors are prepared to pay for the printing of the pages of the journal with colored images in their articles in colors, all images should be presented in black and white or gray format.

Acknowledgements — Acknowledgements should be included on a separate sheet of paper and should not exceed 100 words. Funding sources should be noted here

Citing of References inside text:  Use numbers in superscript. The number should appear before the punctuation mark (eg. Previous reports justify the need for this work^5-8.) and not after a comma or period.

References — References should be numbered in the order in which they occur in the text. These numbers should be inserted above the line on each occasion a reference is cited (e.g., . . . as noted in other studies.1-4). Numbered references should appear at the end of the article and should include the names and initials of all authors. The format of references should be as published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors in the British Medical Journal 1988, volume 296, pages 401-405. The following are sample references for an article published in a journal and for a book:
 

Nichols D, Ladipo OA, Paxman JM and Otolorin EO. Sexual behaviour, contraceptive practice, and reproductive health among Nigerian adolescents. Stud Fam Plann 1986; 17(2): 100-6.
Oppong C. Responsible fatherhood and birth planning. In: Oppong C (Ed.). Sex Roles, Population, and Development in West Africa. New Hampshire: Heinemann, 1987, 165-78.

Author(s) Guarantee Form

All authors will be asked to complete and submit an author(s) guarantee form certifying that all authors named have contributed sufficiently to the work submitted and that the content of the manuscript has neither been previously published nor being considered for publication elsewhere.