GLOBEQUITY - Promoting platinum open access for low and middle income country scientists: A publication fee waiver program for two Swiss society journals

The GLOBEQUITY platinum publishing fee waiver program provides scientists from low and middle income and from some countries in economic transition (LMIC+) with platinum open access (OA) 2022-2024 in the International Journal of Public Health (IJPH) and Public Health Reviews (PHR). The program counters a rapidly increasing inequity where scientists in LMIC+ face discriminatory hurdles as they cannot afford OA publication fees (APC). OA amplifies global inequities given that governments, universities and research institutions in LMIC+ cannot fund the APC and deals to support OA are mostly signed with high income countries (HIC) and wealthy research institutions. These strong barriers force LMIC+ researchers to publish in closed access journals where their research does not receive the same open reach. Alternatively, they must place HIC co-authors as first or corresponding authors to get free APC which jeopardizes publication ethics and their career tracks. The GLOBEQUITY closes the gap for LMIC+ authors in getting access to APC funds. GLOBEQUITY will only cover the publication fees for authors who do not qualify for other APC funding programs. 

The Swiss open access journals IJPH and PHR, are dedicated to make a difference in providing equal access for high quality research from LMIC+. The journals have a pronounced global scope and are attractive for authors from LMIC+. Both journals provide thorough double blind peer review with usually two rounds of review and revisions. They rank in Q1 of the subject category Public, Environmental and Occupational Health (based on CiteScore: IJPH and PHR; based on Impact Factor: IJPH). The journals are owned by the non-profit Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+) – a Foundation of 12 Swiss universities. The journals’ scientific editorial office is mandated to Swiss Tropical and Publish Health Institute.