Editorial

Abstract

This year, 2012, marks the fifteenth consecutive year of publication of the Africa Journal of Nursing and Midwifery (AJNM) and its fifth year of publication as an academic journal accredited by South Africa's Department of Higher Education and Training (DoHET). This accreditation is a major accomplishment. Retaining its status as an academic accredited journal is the major focus of the journal's editors and editorial board, and poses challenges for exceeding the minimum expected standards of every DoHET audit. Meeting these expectations necessitates repeated revisions of most manuscripts and the rejection of some manuscripts. The critical factor for retaining its DoHET accreditation is the quality of every article published by the AJNM, rather than the number of articles or the number of issues published during any year. The major reasons for manuscripts being rejected include the manuscripts being based on outdated data, outdated references, incorrect statistics, incomplete qualitative data analysis or aspects irrelevant to the nurses and midwives of the 52 countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) Africa region. This is a non-negotiable requirement because the AJNM strives to provide a publication and communication platform for the nurses and midwives from these African countries.