What is Africa keeping “living”?
Evidence changes as new research becomes available. Living evidence efforts are designed to be updated as that happens, rather than remaining fixed at the point when they were first produced.
The Living Evidence Atlas, produced by Alive, tracks living evidence efforts around the world, including evidence syntheses, evidence maps, guidelines and repositories. Its latest update, on 11 September 2026, lists 529 efforts across 44 countries, with 292 currently active.
We looked at the African entries.
In South Africa, the Atlas lists living evidence work across several topics. These include gender-based violence and femicide, climate and environment, employment of young women and girls, mental health, methods and evidence use, and musculoskeletal conditions and rehabilitation.
Among the active entries is The Art and Science of Promoting Evidence-Informed Policymaking: A Global Living Evidence Map. Other active efforts include the National Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence and Femicide Living Evidence Map, Climate and Environment Evidence in South Africa, a living evidence map of interventions supporting the employment of young women and girls in Africa, and evidence maps related to South African evaluation and local government.
The Atlas also lists active protocols for living evidence syntheses on post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
In Uganda, the Atlas lists the Living EIDM Tool Map, an active repository focused on methods and evidence use.
In Tanzania, it lists a living systematic review examining possible vertical transmission and antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among infants born to mothers with COVID-19. First published in 2020, its status in the Atlas is marked as unclear.
The Atlas offers a window into the living evidence landscape, but it may not capture every initiative currently underway.
Is your living evidence initiative on the Alive map?
Alive continues to collect living evidence efforts for the Atlas. If you are working on a living review, evidence map, guideline or repository that is not yet listed, you can submit it for inclusion. You can also join the Alive Learning Forum to connect with others working on living evidence and follow developments in the field.
