Laboratory in a rural hospital. Guinea Bissau (Africa) 2000

Inequalities between developed and developing countries are a serious problem in the field of health research. The Human Development Report 2003 emphasises that 90% of global researching for pharmaceutical drugs goes to diseases that account for 10% of the disease burden in developing countries. Tropical diseases, incidence of HIV/AIDS, and the lack of diffusion existing technologies affect particularly poor countries. Financing of health research and the social use of technology may be two of the main ways to improve global health.