Inter Press Service - November 13, 2004
Diego Cevallos

"There is still a possibility, but the way things stand now, it is very unlikely that the goals for health and other areas will be met," he told IPS.

The eight MDGs were officially adopted by the United Nations member states in 2000 as a framework for reducing poverty, hunger and inequality. They encompass key aspects of public health worldwide.

The health-related targets within the goals include reducing the under-five mortality rate by two-thirds, reducing the maternal mortality rate by three-quarters, and curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases, all by the year 2015.

Latin America succeeded in reducing the infant mortality rate from 54 to 34 deaths for every 1000 live births between 1998 and 2002.

In the meantime, however, the maternal mortality rate remained fixed at 190 per 100,000 births, and no major improvement is expected before 2015.

Although there have been health-related advances in Latin America and the Caribbean, noted Machinea, the region is still largely dependent on what is researched and offered by the developed countries, and without their support, there is little chance of more rapid progress.

Between 1996-1997 and 2000-2001, government spending on the health sector rose by a mere 0.4 percent of GDP in Latin America and the Caribbean, and practically none of these expenditures were devoted to medical research, an area with tremendous potential for growth.

Brazil, Cuba, Mexico and India are the developing countries that spend the most on health-related research, but the amounts involved pale in comparison to the more than 100 billion dollars invested in this sector by the industrialised world.

More and more money is being spent around the world on medical research, but most of it is aimed at developing drugs and diagnostic tests that have little relevance to the needs of low- and middle-income countries.

The situation was analysed this past Thursday in Mexico City by representatives of organisations specialising in this area and Mexican authorities.

"There is a generalised dependency on the developed world, and particularly with regard to scientific research and development, since Latin America devotes barely 0.5 percent of GDP to this sector. The region needs to spend more money more effectively in order to move forward," said Machinea.

According to the Global Forum for Health Research, based in Geneva, world spending on health research grew by roughly seven billion dollars annually between 1998 and 2001, and has now reached over 105.9 billion dollars a year; the wealthy developed countries account for 96 percent of the total.

The developing countries must work towards breaking this "extreme dependency" on what is researched in the industrialised North if they hope to solve the problems that afflict them, Mexican Minister of Health Jorge Frenk said at the meeting on Thursday, when the results of the new World Health Organisation (WHO) report, "Knowledge for Better Health", were presented.

The report stresses that scientific research should place greater emphasis on improving health care delivery systems, and focus more on the problems facing the developing world.

Stephen Matlin, executive director of the Global Forum, addressed the findings of the report and provided statistics compiled by his own organisation.

He noted, for example, that of all the resources devoted to medical research worldwide, 44 percent come from the public sector, while the rest are contributed by the private sector.

The United States accounts for 49 percent of global spending on health research, he added, followed by Japan, with 13 percent, the United Kingdom with seven percent, Germany with six percent and France with five percent.

In the meantime, less than 10 percent of all of the research carried out by scientists working for transnational corporations is aimed at solving the health problems of developing countries.

Moreover, as Machinea pointed out, "The process involved in gaining access to the drugs produced in the industrialised North is very time-consuming, and the prices are not always reasonable."

If the countries that conduct the research decided to do more to support regions like Latin America and the Caribbean, the MDGs would undoubtedly be within closer reach, he said.

But the governments of the region also need to demonstrate the political will to move closer to attaining these targets, he added.

According to Matlin, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico and India are the only developing countries that have raised their spending on medical research to represent two percent of total budgetary expenditures.

Mauricio Lunes, a Mexican university professor and specialist in public health, told IPS that the growth in investment in research in these four developing countries "represents almost nothing and will not have any significant repercussions in the future."

"There is a wealthy world, which works for its own interests, and then there is the poor world, made up of regions like Latin America, which will go on begging for medical technology, drugs and other advances to help its population. Basically, it all adds up to greater dependency and greater expenditures," he said.

The Mexican minister of health recommended entering into negotiations with companies and governments of the North to promote research more in line with the needs of the South.

Latin America devotes 0.5 percent of GDP to research and development in numerous areas, including the medical sciences, as compared to the 2.5 percent invested by South Korea, the United States and Japan.

To develop strategies aimed at better linking the efforts of medical science researchers with the health care needs of the world's people, especially in the poorest regions, the WHO and Global Forum will be holding parallel meetings next week in Mexico City.

The WHO Ministerial Summit on Health Research will be attended by ministers from over 30 countries, while the Global Forum session will bring together close to 700 health researchers, policy-makers, and funders and users of health research from 100 countries.

*****

+ ECLAC (http://www.eclac.cl)

+ WHO (http://www.who.int/es)

+ Global Forum for Health Research (http://www.globalforumhealth.org)

041113
IP041108

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2004. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2004. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .