SciDev.Net

The media can help in the global fight against disease, both as a watchdog for poor practices, and a champion for successful research.

Governments and donors must find ways to tackle the rise in non-communicable disease, which can mean reassessing health priorities in developing nations.

African ministers have committed themselves to a set of actions to boost health research in their countries. Now they must implement them.

International surveillance systems are needed to curb the rise of antibiotic resistance.

Developing countries need economic stability and social inclusion to develop — both of which are in jeopardy in Kenya and Pakistan as 2008 dawns.

At its global summit next week the G8 needs to build on the work of its predecessors, putting science and technology back at the heart of the international aid agenda.

Journalists have a key role to play in informing the public about tuberculosis and bringing key issues to the attention of policymakers.

Pressure is growing for a major shift in international intellectual property rules that addresses the interests of the poor.

The media must be involved in African preparations for a possible bird flu outbreak.

Journalists in China — as elsewhere — have an important function to play in reporting on how science and technology affects people's lives.

The research community's failure in the past 25 years to develop either a vaccine or a cure for HIV/AIDS underlines the need to be more, not less, scientific.

A new commission set up by China to monitor scientific malpractice should look beyond the acts of individuals to the way that the country's science is run.

Developing countries need to recognise the long-term benefits of creating the capacity to research and develop flu vaccines.

Increasing access to affordable drugs in developing countries requires better government intervention, not less of it.

The only way for Africa to combat bird flu successfully is through an effective communication strategy that enables the public to prepare both for outbreaks in their poultry stocks and for a possible human pandemic.

The downfall of South Korea's leading stem cell scientist says more about the pressures on modern researchers than it does about the ethics of the research involved. But the two remain linked.

Although research on malaria needs greater support, the fight against the disease will not be won in the laboratory but with tools in the field, many of which already exist. Improved techniques are needed to communicate this reality to decision-makers.

As prospects grow of a global flu pandemic, it is important for governments to recognise that responsible science journalism can play a significant role in limiting its impact.

Accurate information about the spread of avian influenza — and the wide dissemination of that information — is essential if the spreading pandemic is to be contained. Journalists have an important role to play in ensuring that both goals are achieved.

Proposals for a global treaty to boost research and development for neglected diseases by sidelining large pharmaceutical companies may appear utopian. But they highlight the urgent need for new ways of producing the medicines needed by the poor.