Although the world spends much each year on health research, the research work on such diseases as AIDS and malaria is still not enough, according to a report published in Geneva on Thursday.

AIDS and malaria are among the leading causes of death in many developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa but increasingly in other regions as well, says the report, which was published by the Global Forum for Health Research.

"For both diseases the tools available are limited and increasingly the available drugs are being compromised by problems of resistance, so new knowledge and technologies (drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and, in the case of AIDS, microbicides) are required," says Stephen Matlin, one of the authors of the report.

Matlin, who is also executive director of the Geneva-based forum,says more research is necessary on upstream interventions needed to keep people healthy and prevent infection in the first place.

"Downstream interventions aimed at treatment are much more costly, and with increasing rates of infection, they represent a potentially bottomless pit for funding," says the former university professor of biological chemistry.

Matlin points out that AIDS, malaria and some other diseases that mainly affect less developed countries are actually not being paid enough attention, although the world spends some 106 billion U.S. dollars (based on 2001 data) a year on health research.

"There is still an enormous mismatch between how research resources are used and the burden of diseases affecting less developed countries," he says.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Matlin expressed hope that "the provocative opinions" in the report would stimulate more debate and more action that would lead ultimately to greater resources for health research to focus on neglected diseases.

The Global Forum for Health Research was established in 1998 as an independent international foundation. It is currently supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, World Bank, World Health Organization and the governments of Canada, India, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

Source: Xinhua