Poor countries make the best teachers: discuss
----------------------------------------------
Editorial
By Tessa Richards and James Tumwine
BMJ 2004;329:1113-1114, (13 November)
It is not only what you spend on health but how you spend it
[From the Moderator: This is in follow-up of a message on AFRO-
NETS from Fri, 17 Sep 2004 12:48:38 -0400:
Information for the British Medical Journal by Tessa Richards
requesting inputs from AFRO-NETS subscribers to the above topic.
D.N.]
For the full text article go to:
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/329/7475/1113
"We will meet in the developing world a level of will, skill,
and constancy that may put ours to shame. We may find our-selves
not the teachers we thought we were, but students of those who
work under circumstances that would have stopped us long ago.
The idea of a BMJ issue focusing on what rich countries can
learn from poorer ones came from our editorial board. Western
medical journals' coverage of health issues in low income coun-
tries is "limited and negative," they said. As a result they
don't capture the learning potential of successful health ini-
tiatives developed in countries long honed to making the best of
meagre resources.
Challenged to do better, the BMJ set up a team of advisers, put
out a call for examples, and solicited ideas via global research
networks and email discussion lists including AFRO-NETS and HIF-
net at the World Health Organization. This issue reflects a va-
riety of views of what high income countries whose increasing
investment in health pays uncertain dividends can learn from
poorer ones � and what poorer ones can learn from each other..."