Dear Syed,
The Global Health Network recently had a meeting at the Worldbank addressing
the problem of lack of essential information in developing countries. They
suggest the Internet as the solution for this kind of problems.
Although online-reading of the Internet is rare and full text retrieval from
Internet sources is expensive they suggest 'restricted area servers':
limited areas where sources like for example the British Medical Journal can
be read with very low costs.
If you want to know more about the Global Health Network; look at their
home-page:
http://www.pitt.edu/HOME/GHNet/GHNet.html. They also have a mailing list.
For those interested I have enclosed a recent editorial in the BMJ
describing the International Network for the Availability of Scientific
Publications (INASP):
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BMJ No 7074 Volume 314
Editorial Saturday 11 January 1997
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Meeting the information needs of health workers in
developing countries
A new programme to coordinate and advise
Health workers in the developing world are starved
of the information that is the lifeblood of
effective health care.(1)(2) As a direct result,
their patients suffer and die. In the words of the
late James Grant, former executive director of
Unicef "The most urgent task before us is to get
medical and health knowledge to those most in need
of that knowledge. Of the approximately 50 million
people who were dying each year in the late 1980s,
fully two thirds could have been saved through the
application of that knowledge."(2)
Providing access to reliable health information for
health workers in developing countries is
potentially the single most cost effective and
achievable strategy for sustainable improvement in
health care. Cost effective because the amounts of
money required are negligible compared with those
invested in health services. Achievable because
providers of health information have the will and
commitment to make it happen, and because
information technology presents exciting new
opportunities to complement conventional methods of
dissemination. And sustainable because information
access is the sine qua non of the professional
development of all health workers-the most vital
asset of any healthcare system.
In 1994 and 1995 the BMJ hosted international
meetings to look for ways to improve the
dissemination of health information to, from, and
within the developing world.(1) The meetings showed
that the overall impact of providing health
information would be greatly enhanced by increased
coordination, analysis, and funding. A new programme
was needed to serve as a point of reference for
those who supply and receive information, to build a
global picture of their activities and needs, and to
argue their case with others. This programme is now
being introduced within an existing non-profit
organisation, the International Network for the
Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP).
Founded in 1991 by the International Council of
Scientific Unions, INASP is a cooperative network of
providers and recipients of science information,
promoting the exchange of quality information (both
printed and electronic) between and within the
developed and developing world.
The new programme, INASP-Health, serves three main
functions. Firstly, it provides a referral and
advisory service for information providers and
potential recipients. For example, institutions
seeking health information can approach INASP
directly and be put in touch with the organisations
most likely to help. INASP-Health acts as a catalyst
for new collaborations and initiatives and will soon
be launching a dedicated email discussion list to
facilitate cooperation and debate.
Secondly, INASP-Health aims to build a global
picture of health information priorities in the
developing world and the most appropriate ways of
addressing them. It is developing a specialised
database of needs assessments, evaluations of cost
effectiveness, and other material related to the
provision of health information. These data will be
made freely available to help with the planning and
setting up of new programmes, to provide support for
funding applications, and to help develop future
strategies.
The third function of INASP-Health is advocacy, both
at a specific and a general level. For example, it
works with organisations such as the Association for
Health Information and Libraries in Africa (AHILA)
to promote their needs to a wider audience,
negotiating with publishers and others on their
behalf. On a wider scale, INASP-Health will work
increasingly with international organisations like
the World Health Organisation and World Medical
Association and with governments and funding
agencies to promote the development of cost
effective strategies and to strengthen political and
financial commitment
INASP-Health aims,to ensure that the developing
world does not get left behind by the information
revolution. Rather, it wants to harness the enormous
potential to provide the developing world with the
information that for too long it has lacked.
Supported by the Overseas Development Administration
(UK) and the BMA
Neil Pakenham-Walsh Programme manager, INASP-Health
Carol Priestley Director
The International Network for the Availability of
Scientific Publications
PO Box 2564,
London W5 1ZD
Richard Smith Editor, BMJ
London WC1R 9JR
References
1 Kale R. Health information for the developing
world. BMJ 1994;309:939-42.
2 Grant J. Opening session, world summit on medical
education, Edinburgh 8-12 August 1993. Med Educ
1994; 28(suppl 1):11.
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Best regards,
Mark Raijmakers
Project Coordinator Pharma-project
Wemos
P.O.Box 1693
1000 BR Amsterdam
React by e-mail to wemos@antenna.nl, or marik@tip.nl (private)
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