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MISTICA: DC Access to Research via the Internet

From: Daniel Pimienta ([email protected])
Date: Thu Jan 31 2002 - 13:51:14 AST

>From: [email protected]
>Subject: WHO Health Inter Net
>Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 16:02:44 +0100
>
>Press Release WHO/7 31 January 2002
>
>WHO AND TOP PUBLISHERS TODAY LAUNCH "ACCESS TO RESEARCH" INTERNET INITIATIVE
>FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
>
>Many thousands of doctors, researchers, health policy-makers and others in
>about 70 developing countries will from today gain free access through the
>Internet to one of the world's largest collections of biomedical literature.
>
>They will benefit from an initiative launched by the World Health
>Organization and the world's six biggest medical journal publishers, which
>WHO Director-General Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland has described as "perhaps the
>biggest step ever taken towards reducing the health information gap between
>rich and poor countries."
>
>The "Access to Research" initiative enables accredited universities, medical
>schools, research centres and other public institutions in the developing
>countries to gain access to the wealth of scientific information contained
>in more than 1000 different biomedical journals produced by the six
>publishers. Until now, subscriptions to these journals, both electronic and
>print, have been priced uniformly for such institutions, irrespective of
>geographical location. Many key titles cost more than US$1500 per year, and
>the average subscription costs several hundred dollars, putting the journals
>beyond the reach of the large majority of health and research institutions
>in the poorest countries.
>
>Last year WHO, working with the British Medical Journal, approached the six
>biggest medical journal publishers: Blackwell, Elsevier Science, the
>Harcourt Worldwide STM Group, Wolters Kluwer International Health & Science,
>Springer Verlag and John Wiley. The aim was to bring them together with the
>countries concerned to seek a more affordable pricing structure for online
>access to their international biomedical journals.
>
>The first stage of the initiative will make more than 1,000 of their
>journals available free or at significantly reduced charges to institutions
>in those countries. That availability begins today with the opening of the
>Health InterNetwork website: www.healthinternetwork.net. A second stage will
>involve similar access at significantly reduced prices for institutions in
>the other countries. WHO and the publishers will work with the Open Society
>Institute of the Soros foundation network and other public and private
>partners to extend the initiative; for example, through training for
>research staff, and improving Internet connectivity.
>.
>The "Access to Research" initiative is expected to last for at least three
>years, while being monitored for progress. Decisions about how to proceed
>with further developments will grow from the precedent it sets, and will be
>informed by the working relationships which have evolved among the
>publishers and participating institutions.
>
>The initiative itself is a major aspect of the work of the Health
>InterNetwork project which was introduced by United Nations'
>Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the UN Millennium Summit in the year 2000.
>Led by WHO, the Health InterNetwork aims to strengthen public health
>services by providing public health workers, researchers and policy makers
>access to high-quality, relevant and timely health information through an
>Internet portal. It further aims to improve communication and networking. As
>key components, the project will provide training as well as information and
>communication technology applications for public health.
>
>The project is led by Dr Michael Scholtz, Special Representative of the WHO
>Director-General. He says: "Today sees the beginning of a new way to bridge
>the digital divide in health, and an important move by the publishers in
>facilitating the flow of health information, using the Internet."
>
>For further information, journalists can contact Mr Thomson Prentice, WHO,
>Geneva. Telephone (+41 22) 791 4224; Fax (+41 22) 791 4870; Email:
>[email protected] All WHO Press Releases, Fact Sheets and Features as well
>as other information on this subject can be obtained on Internet on the WHO
>home page http://www.who.int

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