SciDev.Net

The international community can help Cuba to keep on providing its population with accessible healthcare, even during economic turbulence, say Pol de Vos and Patrick Van der Stuyft.

Maternal health needs a new, pragmatic, research-led approach targeted specifically for developing countries, says Priya Shetty.

A truth commission can account for South Africa's past HIV/AIDS denialist policies and rebuild trust, says AIDS expert, Salim S. Abdool Karim.

A UNITAID patent pool could revolutionise HIV treatment and research in developing countries — if payment can be agreed, says Priya Shetty.

Countries need to produce their own vaccines, and they need to invest in public sector capacity to do it, says Indian scientist Y. Madhavi.

Interrupting funding for mass treatment of lymphatic filariasis can lead to a quick resurgence in the disease, say Kimberly Won and colleagues.

Swine flu vaccines should be equally available, regardless of a country's ability to pay, says medical expert Tadataka Yamada.

Policymakers must think outside the box to strengthen clinical research networks for global health, says Harvard researcher Jeff Blander.

More research is needed on how to tackle HIV with antiretroviral therapy, say Kevin M De Cock and colleagues at the WHO.

A lack of political will to create vaccines is causing millions of deaths a year due to infectious diseases, says Manuel Elkin Patarroyo.

New technologies can help African countries identify counterfeit or substandard drugs, says director of Africa Fighting Malaria Roger Bate.

GlaxoSmithKline plans to cut medicine prices and create a 'patent pool' — but does any of this reflect a real drive to boost the health of the poor?

While progress has been made in tackling lymphatic filariasis, we are still long way from eliminating the disease, says David H. Molyneux.

FDA priority review vouchers will not necessarily encourage research into tropical diseases, argues Aaron Kesselheim.

African governments are ill-prepared to address the continent's growing cancer burden, warn Hany Besadaand and Vadim Ermakov.

Developing nations must stop aping the North's mental health services and use strategies tailored to their own needs, says Vikram Patel.

Doruk Ozgediz and Robert Riviello make the case for devoting more resources to easily treated surgical conditions in Africa.

Peter J. Hotez believes the establishment of a new financing mechanism is vital for the control and eradication of neglected diseases.

Drug companies seeking to promote research and development in poor nations should focus on innovation, not legislation, argues Angela Saini.

To address the urgency of the HIV crisis, says Mauro Schechter, vaccine researchers must pursue clinical trials as well as basic science, testing vaccines for both prevention and therapy.