“I remain passionate about training. I’m very happy to see the establishment of Cochrane Kenya,” said ophthalmologist Steve Gichuhi.  “Countries with scarce resources should be selective about interventions that cost money. We need to make decisions based on evidence – this has always been and will continue to be. I’m very optimistic about the new entities across Africa. The work needs to be done.”

It was this desire for training and the need to answer a research question pertinent to his daily work that brought Gichuhi to training offered by Cochrane SA in the 2000s. 

“I was looking for training. I had heard about Cochrane activities in Oxford and tried for admission but it was very expensive. Then I heard that Cochrane SA was offering training. I initially did a one–day workshop in Pretoria, then applied for the RAP programme. It was a great experience.”

“The mentor-mentee model worked very well. You build a close relationship during the review.”

Gichuhi’s research question concerned eye tumours that developed due to HIV infection and resulted in an empty review. “Because the review was an empty one – it meant new knowledge was required,” said Gichuhi. “I therefore managed to get a grant to do a treatment trial for my PhD via the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. We tested an anti-cancer drug. It was very exciting.” 

Gichuhi also met Jimmy Volmink, the founding director of Cochrane SA, who alerted him to the fact that there was a post being offered in the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group in the USA. He applied, was successful and in 2006 went to Johns Hopkins for a year.

Later Gichuhi joined an initiative to train Cochrane editors in Africa and became an Editor for Cochrane Eyes and Vision.

“I think most people who become involved in Cochrane activities in Africa have tended to be physicians working in infectious diseases and facing very specific problems for which research evidence is needed. Specialised areas like eye care continue to have a gap which still needs bigger involvement,” he said. 

First Cochrane Review
Gichuhi S, Irlam JH. Interventions for squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva in HIV‐infected individuals. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD005643. DOI:10.1002/14651858.CD005643.pub2.