Science against poverty

One doesn't usually associate medical and scientific journals with anti-poverty campaigns. But more than 200 such journals from 34 nations ran simultaneous articles on a range of poverty and development-related topics in their October issues. There are commentaries on microfinance programmes and health; China's health care system; health effects of declining us income; innovation, licensing and global health; poverty and mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa and disseminating global health change. The initiative coordinated by the Council of Science Editors, includes presentations on seven of the journal articles which was webcast live from the us 's National Institutes of Health on Monday, October 22.

The list of articles can be seen at
http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/globalthemeissue01.cfm. "We hope the articles demonstrate the success of research on the health needs of the poor,' said Annette Flanagin of the Journal of American Medical Association. " We also hope that the initiative will help target future funding to effective anti-poverty programmes,' her colleague Margaret Winker added.