Privacy Statement

The African Journal of Tropical Medicine and Biomedical Research (AJTMBR) is committed to protecting the privacy of our authors, reviewers, readers, and website users. This Privacy Statement explains how we collect, use, and protect personal information in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following personal data from users who interact with our website and services:

User Registration Data: Name, email address, institutional affiliation, and ORCID iD (if provided).
Manuscript Submission Data: Author details, co-author information, conflict of interest statements, and funding disclosures.
Reviewer Information: Contact details and academic expertise for peer review assignments.
Website Usage Data: Non-personal information such as IP address, browser type, and access logs, used for website optimization and security.

Additionally, the data collected from both registered and non-registered users falls within the scope of the standard functioning of peer-reviewed journals. It includes information necessary for communication during the editorial process, informs readers about authorship and content editing, and enables the collection of aggregated data on readership behaviors, as well as tracking geopolitical and social elements of scholarly communication.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use collected data for the following purposes:

Manuscript Processing & Publishing: To manage submissions, coordinate peer review, and publish accepted research.
Editorial & Peer Review Communication: To facilitate communication between authors, reviewers, and editors.
Journal Notifications: To inform registered users about new issues, calls for papers, and important announcements.
Website Improvements & Security: To analyze usage trends and enhance journal services.

This journal’s editorial team also uses collected data to guide its work in publishing and improving the journal. Data that contributes to the development of this publishing platform may be shared with its developer, Public Knowledge Project (PKP), in an anonymized and aggregated form, with appropriate exceptions such as article metrics. However, the data will neither be sold by AJTMBR or PKP, nor will it be used for purposes beyond those stated here. The authors published in this journal are responsible for any human subject data included in their research.

3. Data Sharing & Confidentiality

Strict Confidentiality: Submitted manuscripts, reviewer reports, and author data are kept confidential and accessed only by authorized editorial personnel.
No Third-Party Sharing: We do not sell, rent, or share personal data with third parties for marketing purposes.
Legal Compliance: If required by law, we may disclose information to regulatory authorities.

4. Data Security & Retention

Secure Systems: Personal data is stored on secure servers with access controls.
Retention Period: User data is retained as long as necessary for journal operations and compliance with record-keeping requirements.
User Rights: Users have the right to request data access, corrections, or deletion.

AJTMBR seeks to comply with industry standards for data privacy, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provisions for "data subject rights," which include: (a) Breach notification (b) Right of access (c) Right to be forgotten (d) Data portability (e) Privacy by design

The GDPR also recognizes the "public interest in the availability of data," which is particularly relevant for maintaining the integrity of the scholarly publishing record.