Strengthening the Role of Genomics in Global Health

Policy Forum D evelopment experts and policy makers agree that investment in science and technology is important for economic growth and development. The 2001 United Nations (UN) Development Programme report, Making New Technologies Work for Human Development, identifi ed technical progress as the largest factor in reducing mortality rates and improving life expectancy from 1960 to 1990 [1]. A May 2004 report to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan from the InterAcademy Council on Science and Technology Capacity supports the view that mobilization of sound scientifi c knowledge and evidence-based principles is needed to address critical world issues such as poverty, disease, and the effects of globalization and economic transformation [2]. Annan himself has drawn attention to the importance of science capacity for global development, observing that " no nation can afford to be without its own [science and technology] capacity " [3]. This capacity is essential if the world is to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were adopted by all UN members in 2000 in a commitment to promote sustainable development and eliminate poverty in the world. As part of the Millennium Project, the UN established task forces to come up with strategies to help developing countries achieve the MDGs. One of these is the Task Force on Science, Technology, and Innovation (Task Force 10), created in recognition of the fact that many of the goals, especially those related to health and the environment, cannot be realized without a strong contribution from science and technology [4]. In a report titled Genomics and Global Health, presented recently to Task Force 10, we addressed how genomics and related health biotechnologies can improve global health and contribute towards meeting the MDGs [5]. The report shows how the world can unite in a global approach to meet these objectives and what steps developing countries themselves are taking to harness these technologies. The main fi ndings of the report are summarized in our conclusions below. Genomics refers to the powerful new wave of health-related life sciences energized by the human genome project and the knowledge and tools it is spawning. It is a relatively new science that has tremendous potential to address health problems in developing countries. The role of genomics in global health has been highlighted previously in the World Health Organization's 2002 report [6], and explored further in a technology foresight exercise by the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics …