The Pan African Medical Journal May 2026

The Pan African Medical Journal: Africa’s Premier Open-Access Voice in Global Health

Before You Submit:

• Read the Author Guidelines: Available in English, French, and Portuguese on the PAMJ website.
• Format your manuscript: Use standard IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Results, And Discussion) structure for original research.
• Ethical approval: Upload a scanned copy of the institutional ethics committee approval.
• Consent forms: For case reports, include patient consent (or institutional waiver).
• Plagiarism check: PAMJ uses iThenticate; ensure similarity index is <20% (excluding references).

The Challenging: Honest Criticism

No journal is perfect. PAMJ faces significant hurdles that any author should be aware of.

• The Impact Factor Gap: PAMJ’s impact factor is modest (currently hovering around 1.3). If your university requires a "high impact" journal for tenure, you will struggle to justify PAMJ over a legacy journal.
• Variable Peer Review: Because PAMJ relies heavily on a volunteer network of African reviewers, turnaround times can be slow. Some authors report 6-9 months from submission to publication. Additionally, the rigor is inconsistent—some articles are gold-standard; others are poorly designed.
• The "Volume" Trap: PAMJ publishes a lot of articles. While this democratizes knowledge, it can dilute the brand. Finding the diamond in the rough requires searching harder than you would in a highly selective journal.

Indexing and Impact: Is PAMJ Reputable?

A common question among young researchers is whether PAMJ is “indexed.” The answer is yes. The Pan African Medical Journal is indexed in: The Pan African Medical Journal

• PubMed Central (full-text)
• Scopus (Q3 in Public Health)
• DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)
• Google Scholar
• African Journals Online (AJOL)

While its impact factor (calculated by Clarivate) is still emerging, PAMJ’s CiteScore (Scopus) has grown steadily from 1.2 in 2019 to 2.4 in 2023. For career advancement in African universities, PAMJ publications are often weighted equally with legacy international journals. Read the Author Guidelines: Available in English, French,

How to Submit (concise guidance)

1. Prepare manuscript following PAMJ author guidelines (structured abstract, IMRAD format for originals).
2. Obtain ethics approval and informed consent where applicable; disclose conflicts of interest.
3. Submit through the journal’s online submission portal.
4. Respond promptly to editorial and peer-review requests for revision.

Comparison with Other African Journals

While there are excellent regional publications (e.g., East African Medical Journal, South African Medical Journal), PAMJ is unique in its pan-continental scope. It does not prioritize one region over another. A study from a clinic in Algiers sits alongside research from a hospital in Cape Town or a village in Malawi. The Challenging: Honest Criticism No journal is perfect

| Journal | Scope | Open Access | APC for Africans | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | PAMJ | Pan-African | Yes | $0 | | African Health Sciences | Pan-African | Yes | $200 | | Nigerian Medical Journal | National | Hybrid | $100 | | SA Heart Journal | Subspecialty | Yes | $150 |

Challenges and Areas for Growth

• Ensuring consistent indexing in the largest global databases to maximize reach.
• Sustaining rigorous peer review while maintaining rapid publication timelines.
• Supporting research quality through training and editorial mentorship.
• Securing funding and resources to maintain open-access publishing without imposing prohibitive article processing charges on authors.