Project Syndicate: The Developing World’s Health Innovators
Mohammod Jobayer Chisti, scientist and head of clinical research, hospitals, and clinical lead in the ICU of Dhaka Hospital at icddr,b

“…[T]he focus of global public health strategies and investments should shift toward reducing the structural disparities between rich and poor countries, in terms of their capacity for medical research and public health implementation. … With adequate support from local and international financing mechanisms, more innovation hubs like icddr,b could emerge and flourish in poor countries. By advancing knowledge sharing and technology transfer, these hubs would enhance cooperation among developing countries, and help us finally overcome the persistent and tragic disparities that plague global health. Health innovations developed in the world’s poor countries have passed the test of scalability and applicability in the places that need them most. With the majority of the world’s population living in resource-challenged settings, we must recognize — and invest in — the efforts of those who are pushing the frontiers of medical science in the developing world” (11/8).