On Friday 4 May 2012 “Strengthening the Global R&D System: Innovation for Health Needs in Developing Countries” took place in Geneva. The keynote address, “Investing in Global Public Goods” was given by Joseph E Stiglitz, recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2001) and professor at Columbia University. […]
Tag: developing countries
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka: Investing in our future—the African youth dividend
South Africa has a bright future—with strategic investments now, we will have a vibrant economy fueled by our “youth bulge.” I believe that investments today will pay a youth dividend of increases in economic productivity, innovation and quality of life. […]
Tracey Koehlmoos: Climate change, health, and security
On 17 October, I was fortunate to attend a daylong seminar at BMA House on “the health and security perspectives of climate change.” Uniquely, this programme pulled together medical and military professionals along with climatologists, zoologists, and politicians. The morning focused on threats to global climate, health, and security whereas the afternoon sessions focused on […]
Tracey Koehlmoos: Road traffic accidents in developing countries – farewell to the colonel
On 11 June 2011, 44 schoolboys died when the truck they were travelling in flipped into a canal in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The boys were from three villages and were riding in an open truck on their way back from a football competition. I was haunted by the image of the devastated village parents, who no doubt […]
Mervyn Dean reflects on culture specific medicine
In the past 10 days or so I’ve settled into some sort of routine at KCMC, seeing patients on the wards in the morning, and in the afternoons either following up on administrative matters or trying to arrange teaching sessions, the latter with some small degree of success. […]
Seye Abimbola: Reflections on the non-existent health system
Imagine a country without a health system; imagine the chaos, and inefficiency. In such a setting, the only form of health systems research necessary would be to generate evidence towards achieving universal coverage. Research will not only be about which interventions work, but where and how the interventions would be most optimal. Indeed, if we […]
Louise Kenny: Flying solo
After the blow to my confidence last week with obstetrics patients, I have developed a healthy fear of the uterus and have understandably been reluctant to see ante-natal, labouring, or post-natal patients. Any organ that bleeds 500ml a minute is a thing to be feared in my book. Of course the problem with my reluctance […]
Richard Feinmann on aid to Africa
Sitting here pondering as a VSO doctor in Uganda I wonder all the time is the aid money to Africa well spent. Uganda gets £70m from the Department for International Development (DFID) and Africa gets about £1.2 billion. I feel some of it could be spent differently. […]
Tejshri Shah on the BMJ/MSF appeal
My name is Tejshri Shah and I am the head of the medical unit of Médecins Sans Frontières UK, the Manson Unit. When asked to be a guest blogger for the BMJ and help promote the BMJ Christmas Appeal for MSF, my mind raced back to my first mission and a little boy, who for […]
Michael Adler and colleagues on HIV today
It has been 25 years since HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, was isolated. Since that time, 25 million people have died of HIV related illnesses. In 2007 there were an estimated 33 million people (CI 30-36) living with the virus and three quarters of all related deaths and two thirds of incident cases were […]