Table 1.

Characteristics of health research institutions in 42 sub-Saharan African countries, 2009.

Characteristics	Health research institutions
	No.*	%
Age of institution (years) (n = 694)
<30	426	61
30–59	200	29
≥60	68	10
Sector the institution belong to (n = 762)
Public	536	70
Private not-for-profit	132	17
Para-state	37	5
Private for-profit	26	3
Other	31	4
Type of institution (n = 847)
Government agencies	257	30
Hospitals	154	18
Medical schools	108	13
Independent research institutions	106	13
Other research institutions (non-governmental  organisations, charities)	105	12
Other universities	95	11
Other	22	3
Level at which institution functions (n = 751)
National	483	64
Local	140	19
Regional	60	8
International	55	7
Other	13	2
Primary functions of institution (n = 697)
Conduct research on health topics	374	54
Academic	373	54
Provide health services	338	48
Conduct research on non-health topics	122	18
Product development or distribution	74	11
Other	128	18
National official or working language (n = 847)
French	445	53
English	285	34
Other	117	14
Institution has mandate on
Research of all types	571	79 (n = 723)
Health research	563	77 (n = 731)

*Number of respondent health institutions, out of 847 surveyed.