Publications
Improving Access to Health Information in the Developing World
Improving Access to Health Information in the Developing World is another deliverable and initiative being developed under WHO leadership with a planned launch during the World Ministerial Summit on Health Research in Mexico (November 16-20, 2004).
Access to healthcare information has become a key international development issue and the paper focuses on meeting the information needs of a key group of decision makers: healthcare providers in the developing world.
Little is known about their needs and the barriers that exist to the access and use of healthcare information. As a result of such barriers, most healthcare providers in developing countries still practice in the absence of relevant, usable and reliable information.
Advances in information and communication technologies has allowed some progress to be made but much more needs to be done. The paper recommends that WHO and its partners convene an international collaborative group to formulate and implement a special initiative to improve access to healthcare information in the developing world.