Improving public health through collaboration in research

The most pressing public health problems are found in the developing countries. Many of them are related not only to endemic tropical diseases such as malaria, schistosomiasis and other parasitic diseases but also to pandemics such as tuberculosis and HIV Improving this situation is dependent on strengthening the global health research capacity in order to advance self-reliance and prudent use of available resources. Biomedical research is increasingly important both for solving structural public health problems and for fighting specific diseases but it also essential that it is properly conducted. The role of research in the promotion of public health issues was understood early on and an initiative to realize this goal was taken in the mid-1970s which resulted in the creation of the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) with funds from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO). Originally TDR focused on six target diseases but this number has now increased to 10 and the programme is today a vital research programme in the WHO Communicable Diseases cluster and comprises more than 70 member countries in addition to the founding organizations. Its charter aims at supporting research projects on tropical diseases on a global scale and, in particular, strengthening research capability in this area in the developing countries. An overview of recent progress in this area is presented, emphasising how research can contribute to improved public health in the developing world. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.