Appeal launched to step up research and development for neglected diseases
BMJ 2005; 330 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.330.7505.1409-b (Published 16 June 2005) Cite this as: BMJ 2005;330:1409All rapid responses
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We applaud the efforts of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative
to change the global research agenda and we agree with those quoted that a
fundamental overhaul of the current system, strong international
leadership, and general access to scientific and medical knowledge are
keys to moving forward.
We are the Chair and Scientific Director and the Executive Director
of The Programme for Global Paediatric Research (“PGPR”), an international
union of paediatric scientists and societies, whose primary goal is to
increase research into diseases affecting children in developing regions.
PGPR brings together researchers from throughout the world for the
purposes of education, collaborative research, and ultimately the
maintenance of child health and the cure of childhood diseases.
In May, PGPR conducted a symposium and workshop on the global crisis
of birth asphyxia, which kills approximately one million children per year
and results in the disability of an untold additional number. The
symposium was held within the annual Pediatric Academic Societies’ Meeting
in Washington DC, the largest gathering of paediatric researchers in the
world.
We were heartened at the number of symposium attendees (the 400
person capacity room overfilled and spilled out into the hallway five
minutes into the 8 am meeting) and the level of response to the issues at
hand. At the workshop, 80 top researchers from 27 countries met to begin
to work on drafting a statement of research needs, priorities and next
steps in the area of birth asphyxia. We are continuing to work on the
statement and hope that it will eventually serve as a road map to
governments, agencies, and individuals.
We believe that there are countless members of the research community
who, for myriad reasons, wish to change the global research agenda. They
may not always know how to do this, but their eagerness to respond to
direction is an indication that there is hope.
Alvin Zipursky, Chair & Scientific Director
(alvin.zipursky@sickkids.ca),
Margaret Manley, Executive Director (margaret.manley@sickkids.ca),
The Programme for Global Paediatric Research,
The Hospital for Sick Children,
Toronto, Canada
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
I hope for a change too!
Bernard Pecoul and Medicines Sans Frontiers opened my eyes in 1999
with their great article in JAMA: Access to essential drugs in poor
countries: a lost battle? writing about the lack of research in tropical
diseases because of the lack of bussiness for the pharmaceuticals.
So I also want to applaud the efforts of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases
Initiative to change the global research agenda because although I have no
idea on how to do it I want to let you all know that I hope for a change
too!.
Pablo Rojo
Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain
pablorojoconejo@netscape.net
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests