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Call for papersPublic health and epidemiology

Call for Papers: Sustaining Disease Elimination and Strengthening Health Systems in Africa (Discover Public Health)

Discover Public Health is assembling a collection on keeping disease-elimination gains in Africa and strengthening the health systems that support them. This guide outlines topic areas consistent with that scope, fit checks, contribution types editors tend to value and practical steps for submitting before the 27 July 2027 deadline.

Pubrica InsightsEditorial team, reviewed by a subject specialist
Deadline
27 July 2027
Last checked
10 November 2026
Reading time
5 min
Sources
1
Submit through the official call

Key dates

Manuscript deadline
27 July 2027
Details last checked
10 November 2026
Open the official call

About the journal

Journal
Discover Public Health
Publisher
Springer Nature
Call type
Call for papers
Scope
Collection on keeping disease-elimination gains in Africa and strengthening the health systems that support them.
Guest editors
Listed on the official collection page
Access and fees
Open access; an article processing charge normally applies on acceptance
Originality
Original work, not under review elsewhere; confirm on the official page

Topics consistent with the call

  • Post-elimination surveillance for malaria, neglected tropical diseases and other targeted conditions
  • Integrating vertical elimination programmes into primary health care services
  • Domestic financing and sustainability after reductions in external funding
  • Community engagement and health workforce roles in sustaining elimination
  • Cross-border coordination and mobile populations in disease elimination
  • Risks of resurgence and health system factors that prevent it

Based on the published scope; the full list of themes is on the official call page.

Is your work a fit? Check before you write

  1. Focus on sustaining elimination gains or strengthening related health systems in African settings.
  2. Describe the disease, setting and programme context clearly.
  3. Draw out implications for policy, financing or programme design.
  4. Follow an appropriate reporting guideline and confirm article types and charges on the official call page.
  5. Submit a complete, co-author-approved manuscript before 27 July 2027.

Why This Call Is a Priority Now

Several African countries have made substantial progress towards eliminating diseases such as malaria, lymphatic filariasis and trachoma. Maintaining these gains requires continued surveillance, financing and community engagement, often as dedicated programmes are scaled down or integrated into general services. Without strong health systems, resurgence is a real risk. An open access collection on this theme gives authors a platform to share programme and policy lessons with researchers, ministries and partners across the continent.

Who Should Submit

Academic backgrounds

  • Public health and epidemiology
  • Tropical medicine and parasitology
  • Health systems and policy research
  • Health economics
  • Implementation science

Institutions and sectors

  • African universities and research institutes
  • Ministries of health and national disease programmes
  • International and non-governmental health organisations
  • Global health funders and partners

Article types commonly published in Discover Public Health

  • See the journal’s article types

What the Editors Typically Value

  1. Studies that document how surveillance and response were maintained after elimination milestones.
  2. Analyses of integration of disease-specific programmes into routine health services.
  3. Research on domestic financing and governance arrangements that support sustainability.
  4. Investigations of resurgence events that identify health system weaknesses and remedies.

Paper Ideas You Could Develop

Malaria surveillance after eliminationAn evaluation of a malaria surveillance and response system in a district that has reached zero local transmission, assessing timeliness and completeness.
Integrating NTD programmesA qualitative study of how mass drug administration for neglected tropical diseases was integrated into primary health care and the challenges encountered.
Financing transitionsA policy analysis of how national programmes adapted after external funding for a disease-elimination effort was reduced.

Your Plan to the Deadline

A suggested schedule working back from 27 July 2027. Adjust it to the stage your work has reached.

  1. By 12 Jun 2027

    Open the official collection page and the Discover Public Health submission guidelines; confirm the scope, article types and guest editors.

  2. By 26 Jun 2027

    Write a one-paragraph statement of your research question, design and the contribution your paper makes to the collection.

  3. By 6 Jul 2027

    Complete the analysis and agree the key findings, figures and tables with your co-authors.

  4. By 17 Jul 2027

    Draft the full manuscript to the Discover Public Health article type and the relevant reporting guideline.

  5. By 22 Jul 2027

    Circulate the draft to co-authors and an independent reader; revise for clarity, accuracy and completeness.

  6. By 25 Jul 2027

    Complete final checks: formatting, references, declarations, data availability statement and cover letter.

  7. By 27 Jul 2027

    Submit through the journal’s online system, selecting the collection, after re-checking the official call page.

What you gain from publishing here

  • Publication in Discover Public Health, reaching readers working on this topic.
  • A themed collection that groups your paper with related work.
  • Editorial and peer feedback that can strengthen the work, whatever the decision.
  • A peer-reviewed output for your CV, thesis or grant reporting.

What happens after you submit

  1. Submission: upload through the Discover Public Health online system and select the collection.
  2. Editorial screening: the editors check fit with the collection; papers outside its scope may be returned without review.
  3. Peer review: suitable papers are sent to reviewers under the journal’s review model.
  4. Revision and decision: respond to each reviewer comment and keep a record of the changes.
  5. Production: accepted papers move to proofs and open access publication, with the article processing charge set out by the publisher.

What the Collection Is Looking For

The collection looks for research on how African countries can protect disease-elimination gains and build the health systems that sustain them. Consistent with the journal’s public health remit, it is likely to welcome surveillance studies, programme evaluations, policy and financing analyses, and community-centred research. Work that offers practical lessons for national programmes and partners will be of particular interest. Authors should confirm accepted article types and article processing charges on the official call page.

Read the call itselfThis guide summarises the call. Open the official collection page before you plan a submission, and record the date you checked it and the guest editors listed.Open the official call

Expert help

How Pubrica Can Help With This Submission

Pubrica’s subject specialists can review, write, edit, format and prepare your manuscript for this call, planned back from the deadline. You remain the author of your work.

Pre-submission peer reviewAn expert review of the manuscript against the call and the journal’s requirements. Manuscript editingSubject-specialist editing for clarity, accuracy and consistency. Journal formattingFormatting of the manuscript, references, figures and tables to the journal’s guidelines. BiostatisticsStatistical analysis and review of results. Cover letterA cover letter that explains how the manuscript fits the call. Journal submissionPreparation of submission files and completion of the online submission.
Go to the official call

FAQs

Questions Authors Ask

The published deadline is 27 July 2027. Collections can close early or be extended, so confirm the date on the official call page before you plan your submission.

The guest editors are listed on the official collection page. Check their research interests, as they help to judge whether your manuscript fits the collection.

It may fit if the study addresses health system capacity to reach and then sustain elimination, rather than control efforts alone. Authors should check the official call page for further scope guidance.

Access model: Open access. Check the journal’s fees page for any article processing charge before you submit.

Sources

  1. Discover Public Health. (2026). Sustaining Disease Elimination and Strengthening Health Systems in Africa [Collection call for papers]. Springer Nature. Retrieved 10 November 2026, from https://link.springer.com/journal/12982/collections

How to cite this page

Pubrica Insights. (2026). Call for Papers: Sustaining Disease Elimination and Strengthening Health Systems in Africa (Discover Public Health). Pubrica. https://pubrica.com/insights/calls-and-conferences/sustaining-disease-elimination-and-strengthening-health-systems-in-afr/

  • Disease elimination
  • Africa
  • Health systems strengthening
  • Surveillance
  • Neglected tropical diseases

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Sustaining Disease Elimination and Strengthening Health Systems in Africa (Discover Public Health)Deadline 27 July 2027

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