Neglected diseases: under-funded research and inadequate health interventions.
Can we change this reality?
Summary
Health, science and technology are increasingly being recognized as prerequisites for economic and social development, and not merely as their consequences (Sachs, 2001, 2002). However, despite recent scientific and technological advances, infectious diseases continue to affect poor and marginalized populations disproportionately (Gwatkin & Guillot, 2000). From a public health point of view, three key factors contribute to this burden: failure to use existing tools effectively; inadequate, failing or non-existent tools; and insufficient knowledge of the disease (World Health Organization (WHO), 1996; Trouiller et al., 2002)