Wikipedia
AuthorAID is the name given to a number of initiatives that provide support to researchers from developing countries in preparing academic articles for publication in peer-reviewed journals. Phyllis Freeman and Anthony Robbins, co-editors of the Journal of Public Health Policy (JPHP), first suggested the name and concept in 2004 and published "Closing the ‘publishing gap’ between rich and poor" about AuthorAID on the Science and Development Network (SciDev.Net), in 2005.
Development aid programs of international organizations, industrial countries, and charitable foundations have invested in strengthening research capacity in developing countries to help those countries solve their own problems. Scientists from developing countries, however, remain under-represented as authors in the published scientific literature. AuthorAID was proposed because unless research results from authors anywhere are available through publication, the full benefit of investment in research is not achieved.
AuthorAID programs engage senior scientists and author’s editors as mentors to help developing country researchers overcome barriers to publication in scientific journals. The internet connects mentors and authors where it is not possible to have face-to-face contact.
The funded AuthorAID program at the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications also organizes workshops in various developing countries, in addition to hosting an online mentoring scheme and e-resources. AuthorAID at INASP is independent of the other AuthorAID programs and is described below.