Efforts to eradicate polio by 2018 must ensure that people with disabilities are included in elimination strategies, says Sue Coe.

International bodies are offering true research opportunities, but African funding is needed to prepare the ground, writes Linda Nordling.

Funding for programmes that target major diseases should be matched by investment in the health systems that underpin them, says Ghana's Irene Akua Agyepong.

TB is linked with a deadly silicosis epidemic hidden for decades in rural South Africa. Gold mining firms must make amends, says Jaine Roberts.

The murder of health workers in Pakistan means the last leg of efforts to eradicate the disease can't be business as usual, says Heidi Larson.

Social attitudes towards vaccines are hard to cram into a mathematical model, but scientists need to take them into account, says Priya Shetty.

S&T advances should safeguard health, equity and the rights of vulnerable populations, says rural development professional Bhavani R. V.

The developing world needs support for low-tech health innovations that do not compromise on effectiveness, says Priya Shetty.

A collaborative project in Ethiopia that has created climate data and tools can be applied in much of Africa, says climate scientist Tufa Dinku.

Countries in South-East Asia must learn from successful family planning programmes if living standards are to improve, says Crispin Maslog.

Integrating human rights thinking into policies for combating HIV/AIDS is essential, says Navi Pillay.

Implementation is the primary challenge for renewed family planning efforts, says demography and population specialist John May.

Neighbouring countries need incentives to coordinate disease control, say health policy experts Ramanan Laxminarayan and colleagues.

Buruli ulcer could spread as agriculture intensifies in Africa, making prevention research vital, says agro-eco-health expert Rousseau Djouaka.

Emerging resistance to artemisinin means efforts to track genetic markers and regulate the drug's use must step up, says Priya Shetty.

Africa's health research capacity is growing but needs a stronger workforce, say Carel IJsselmuiden and colleagues.

India urgently needs a permanent dengue surveillance system, say N. Sivagnaname and colleagues.

There is a pressing need for Africa to bolster its pharmaceuticals industry, and that requires the right policy framework, argues Priya Shetty.

Improving health for the poor depends on nurturing local innovations — and learning how to deliver them, argue Abdallah Daar and Peter Singer.