As founding members of the Higher Institute for Growth in Health Research (HIGHER) for Women in Cameroon, our mission has been to help young women to enter and sustain careers in biomedical science through a mentoring programme (www.higherwomencam.org).

Mentored female researchers spend more time on research and have more publications and greater career satisfaction than do their unmentored peers (W. Levinson et al. West J. Med. 154, 423–426; 1991). In disadvantaged settings such as Cameroon, however, potential female mentors are in short supply.

Led by one of us (R. G. F. L.) and funded by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases and Canada's International Development Research Centre, the HIGHER Women consortium has recruited more than 100 members in the past year. Its 20 or so mentors hold leading positions in Cameroon in academic institutions, research organizations or government agencies; each has four or five mentees on average.

The consortium follows a holistic approach, taking into account the pressures on women in a traditional culture and encouraging career–life balance through planning and coordination. It is developing scientists' skills in grant writing, leadership, ethics, research quality and time management.