Where There Is No Health Research: What Can Be Done to Fill the Global Gaps in Health Research?

Efforts to strengthen capacity in health research have, so far, concentrated on countries where there is existing capacity rather than those where it is almost completely lacking. Judged by absolute numbers of scientific papers, those with the fewest are mainly small islands and a few countries that are politically isolated. Judged by papers per capita, the lowest include countries in the former Soviet Union and Africa, both regions experiencing declines in life expectancy in recent years, and states experiencing conflict. Although there is a positive association between economic development and research output, some relatively wealthy countries seriously underperform. There are many examples of good practice, including regional networks and international partnerships. There is a strong argument for donors to look to the long term and consider how best to build health research capacity where it is virtually absent. [Plos Medicine]. URL:[http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001209]