AJFNS
Volume 2 No. 2 July 2002
FOREWORD
Guess
what? We have actually managed to produce the third issue of AJFNS on time.
Guess what else? Articles are now coming in spontaneously, without solicitation.
Guess what else again, two new donors have come to our aid with financial
support, GTZ and WHO, just to make sure the toddler AJFNS continues to thrive.
What can I say, except to continue to thank you all my friends, many of whom
I have yet to meet, for your words of support and encouragement; that is what
keeps my team and I going and re-energized.
The
journal has partly legitimized all the travelling I do. I have a product to
market. I keep some anecdotes from some of these trips. For example after
presenting the journal in a professional meeting, somebody posed a question;
"Professor, like many African children, journals experience mortality
even before they take off; what guarantee is there, that this one will survive?"
What do you think my response was? People are very excited about the students'
section! On a recent visit with Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa state, he commented:
"the idea of having a students' section is a very commendable one. If
we can get our youth to interact and get to know and understand each one's
culture, they become much better adults with commitment and vision to change
the world, and this is particularly good for American students". Of all
the comments we have received, only one has felt that the students' section
was not warranted and that the space would be utilized better for more research
articles. Of course I do not subscribe to such sentiments.
So
where are we headed? To great heights, I believe. I am keen to include our
French readership and contributors. Our French readers are, I am sure, not
amused by the software translated abstracts in the print version, and full
articles in the soft version. For now, I need volunteers to undertake the
translation. In this regard, Helen Keller International is inviting and sponsoring
me to a meeting in western Africa, to present the journal and to make connection
with potential reviewers and contributors in western Africa, both English
and French speaking. I am most grateful to Helen Keller International for
this support, and invitation and sponsorship to attend the ECOWAS Nutrition
Forum in September 2002.
We
continue to receive comments on how to improve the format and outlook of the
journal. We hope to produce a stable format in March 2003. I would like to
urge you, therefore to make your comments to enable us to come up with a publication
you will be proud to be associated with. Let me confirm my commitment to this
journal and my desire to see it outlive me. Working with younger scholars
to develop a writing culture in them, and to make them appreciate, not only
the intensity of energy that is required to produce a journal, but also one
that appeals to African scientists and professionals interested in the broader
issues of food, nutrition science and development, is one of the ways of ensuring
the survival of the journal.
Lastly,
I am privileged to have a GREAT network of friends around the world. This,
I have come to recognize as a true value that qualifies my international trips
and interactions both physically and electronically.
Long
live African Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences.
Long live friends of AJFNS.
* Please feel free to write a commentary, on any of the
papers that might have inspired you.
Editor-in-Chief