E-drug: New information resource for developing countries
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Website of the week: The information gap
Alex Vass
BMJ 2001;323 1434
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/323/7326/1434/a
BMJ 2001;323:1434 ( 15 December )
The information gap
www.scidev.net was launched last week to bridge the divide between knowledge
rich developed countries and the knowledge poor developing world. Sponsored
by the journals Nature and Science, the site was created on the premise that
"those who stand to benefit most from modern science and technology tend to
be those who have least access to information."
Over the past few years there has been increasing recognition of impact of
the knowledge gap on developing countries. To this end free access to
medical research published by the BMJ has been possible via bmj.com since
1995. All 23 specialist journals published by the BMJ Publishing Group are
currently available free of charge to 44 low income nations and there are
plans to extend this access to 34 lower middle income countries. Earlier
this year six of the world's leading medical publishers signed a "statement
of intent" to provide free access to scientific information for more than
100 of the poorest countries in the world (BMJ 2001;323:65).
Against this background, scidev.net is now the first website dedicated to
the needs of the developing world. It reports and discusses aspects of
science and technology that are relevant to sustainable development and
specific to the needs of developing countries. Each week up to four full
length research articles from each of the journals Science and Nature are
posted on the site. There is also a news section on development related
scientific and policy issues, and in depth dossiers are being created on
topics such as gene cloning, climate change, and malaria.
The sitefunded by UK, Swedish, and Canadian development agenciesalso
advertises job opportunities and international meetings. Links are available
to funding agencies, and other development agencies. Overall the site gives
the feel of being a forum where connections are made, ideas exchanged, and
information shared. Together with the changes in publishing, it shows how
the electronic revolution could help to abolish the information gap.
Alex Vass, BMJ.
avass@bmj.com
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