The rich–poor gap in global health research

Abstract

"I t is now 10 years since the Commission on Health Research for Development released its landmark report.1 It found that spending on health research, when viewed from a global perspective, was grossly skewed. Only 5% of the total funds (US$30 billion in 1986) were spent on research addressing the problems of developing countries whose citizens bore 93% of the global burden of preventable conditions affecting health. The international research effort was found to be poorly coordinated and fragmented. The Commission recommended that all countries, no matter how poor, should undertake “essential national health research” (ENHR)."