Following the publication of the MAPIS Report – Mapping of Health Sciences Research and Funding – the current report updates the set of data developed as part of the MAPIS project for the three years following the period 2021-2023, considered from now on as the reference period for this study. The data presented here makes it possible to monitor the evolution of research in Health Sciences in the Portuguese-Speaking African Countries (PALOP) and to reflect on the most recent publication trends.

This study is presented as an interim document, monitoring over a limited period, and is not intended to be fully comparative with the previous study. The analysis presented here has more limited objectives, focusing on data on scientific production which are identified as central indicators of the evolution of the dynamics of research systems, and which are more sensitive to changes in context. The aim is for the data presented here to allow recent trends to be identified and to contribute to prepare a future mapping study (possibly within an identical three year period) of a more comprehensive nature. In comparison with the MAPIS Report the current interim review does not include qualitative analysis, which requires a different time frame but also reflects more structural characteristics that are less susceptible to rapid change, nor does it analyse participation in clinical trials. It was also decided not to include network analyses, which are particularly relevant to a global mapping, and whose changes over shorter periods of time may be more circumstantial in nature.

One element that is analysed here, and which was an important and innovative contribution of the MAPIS methodology, is the analysis of the role of different local and, mostly, international funding organisations that support research activities in Health Sciences in the PALOP. This data is of particular relevance for monitoring purposes of funding organisations, such as the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

This report, as an interim report, should be read as a complement to the final report of the MAPIS project, which provides its context. In this sense, it is of a shorter nature, focusing essentially on the indicators produced and their analysis, rather than on the more general context of the PALOP research systems. The characterization of PALOP research systems and their evolution in recent years is therefore not presented here. These structural changes require a broader analysis, combining other indicators and documentary analysis with the indicator analysis, which is strictly focused on data from scientific publications. The changes and evolution of the systems are expected to be analysed at a later date. It should also be noted that there is still a clear lack of analysis and statistical production in this area in the PALOP countries.