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Scientific programs are expensive to establish and maintain so that countries most in need of poverty relief and human development, which are dependent on science and technology, are also those with the least developed scientific infrastructure. A 2002 estimate suggested that only 13% of the world’s scientists live and work in Africa, Latin America or the Middle East. In addition to the scarcity of scientists and scientific programs in these and other developing parts of the world, scientific innovation that could spur development in poor countries is under-represented in the scientific literature. One consequence of this imbalance is that deficits in science and technology have been key factors limiting the implementation and evaluation of poverty-targeted interventions necessary to reaching the Millennium Development Goals towards ending extreme poverty. Science continues to plough forward on an uneven frontier but policy-makers are becoming increasingly aware that scientific infrastructure development is a pre-requisite for national growth. Evidence that some gaps are closing comes from Latin America, where twice as many articles in the international peer reviewed literature were contributed in 1999-2003 as compared to 1991-1995. There is also a steady, if slow, increase in the participation of developing country researchers in HIV research. Developing countries, it has been suggested, should devote at least 1% of their GDP to their scientific sectors. Whilst many are yet to meet this goal, which is still a long way from the 3% typically invested by industrialized nations, cogent steps are being taken to improve scientific organization and practice in many parts of the world. India, China and Brazil have seen an impressive boost in scientific investment and output over the last two decades. The African Union (AU) recently proposed to enhance funding for scientific education and the environment as well as to set in place policies towards biotechnology development and intellectual property protection. At the January 2007 Addis Ababa summit where the proposal was debated, AU leaders stopped short of approving a science and innovation fund and an independent assessment body for science on the continent.

Palabras clave: Infection disease developing countries poverty human development.

2007-11-06   |   716 visitas   |   Evalua este artículo 0 valoraciones

Vol. 1 Núm.2. Octubre 2007 Pags. 78-80 J Infect Developing Countries 2007; 1(2)