The rich-poor gap in global health research: challenges for Canada

• Published in: Canadian Medical Association journal (CMAJ) 2001-04, Vol.164 (8), p.1158-1159
• Main Authors: Neufeld, V, MacLeod, S, Tugwell, P, Zakus, D, Zarowsky, C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Canada; Finance; Health Services Research - economics; Health Services Research - trends; Humans; International aspects; Medical research; Poverty - economics; Social Class
• ISSN: 0820-3946; 1488-2329

Since 1990, there has been some progress but much remains to be done. More than 50 developing countries are using the ENHR strategy in some form and, by 1998, global health research and development expenditures had risen to US$70.5 billion.4 The established market economies spent US$350 million on health research within their overseas development budgets. This is about 6% of international aid for the health sector (estimated to be US$5.4 billion in 1998) and thus reaches the target (5%) recommended in 1990. Although this increased proportion is to be applauded, it must be viewed in the context of a steady decline in overseas development assistance during the 1990s. In 1970 the United Nations recommended that donor countries spend 0.7% of their gross domestic product in foreign aid; only 4 countries (The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Norway) are presently meeting this target.5 The decline is slightly offset by private sector investment in particular in private-public partnerships to develop new drugs, vaccines and diagnostic tests for 3 conditions: HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. In addition, some philanthropic organizations have increased their support for research into the health problems of developing countries. 3. Increase funding: Over the past 10 years, the core health research budget of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), through which the Canadian government supports health research in developing countries, has decreased from about Can$15 million to less than Can$4 million. However, the IDRC recently earmarked increased funding for health-related programs in subSaharan Africa. In 2000/01 the Canadian International Development Agency is investing approximately Can$6 million in research on priority health problems of the poor (Dr. Yves Bergevin, Canadian International Development Agency, Hull, Que.: personal communication, 2000). This combined amount of Can$10 million is approximately 5% of Canada's international aid to the health sector and thus reaches the target recommended in the 1990 Commission report. However, as is the case for many other industrialized countries, Canada's overseas development assistance budget has declined steadily over the last decade to less than 0.29% of the gross national product (GNP) - well short of the internationally accepted standard of 0.7% of GNP suggested by Lester Pearson more than 20 years ago. Dr. Neufeld is Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology, McMaster University, H