The acknowledgement section can be used to express gratitude to anyone significant to the publication of the work who is not an author and to provide pertinent financial details. It is not appropriate to identify contributors who satisfy the specified requirements for authorship in the acknowledgement section.

To encourage equal opportunities in research partnerships, we recommend writers carefully assess researcher contributions and authorship standards when engaging in multi-regional collaborations, including local researchers. Authors are also requested to keep the acknowledgments brief and not include any references to anonymous referees or editors or unnecessary statements or remarks.

When it comes to financial acknowledgements, we recommend that writers acknowledge grants and funders on publications based on their efforts or contribution to that article.