SciDev.Net

The Global Forum for Health Research provides evidence, tools and discussion forums for decision-makers in research funding and policy to improve the health of the poor. Although it covers issues for both infectious and non-communicable diseases, the agency recognises that mental health problems are severely neglected in developing countries. As well as links to various publications and reports, the website also hosts RealHealthNews, which aims to share news on research and interventions that can improve the health of those in developing countries.

The GHF's mission is to document the impact of climate change on humans, much of which is health-related. The website expands on the forum's key goal to raise awareness of "climate injustice", by which it means that the world's poor who cause "less than 1 per cent of global emissions, suffer 99 per cent of the casualties". The GHF achieves this goal through advocacy, especially at major climate change conferences. The organisation also works with public and private partners on key projects, including Weather Info For All, which seeks to provide reliable weather information to vulnerable communities affected by climate change.

This partnership of government and non-government organisations, researchers, international bodies and the private sector has a much-called for goal: to increase cooperation between organisations involved different sectors such as health, climate, humanitarian assistance, ecosystems, research and operational services.

The partners collaborate on regional projects to increase capacity within the medical and environmental science communities; use rural communication networks to provide information to remote communities; and enhance the capacity of public-health services to predict and respond quickly to cholera, malaria, meningitis and other climate-sensitive diseases.

The INCTR is dedicated to helping build capacity for cancer treatment and research in countries in which such capacity is limited. The network, which has support from the US National Cancer Institute, aims to build capacity for cancer treatment and research in countries with limited resources through long-term collaborative projects coupled to training and educational programmes. It also seeks to promote international collaboration on cancer control between developed and developing countries. The INCTR is located at the Institut Pasteur in Brussels but also has branches in the US, France, Brazil, Egypt and Nepal and offices in the UK, India and Tanzania. The website contains details of the network's activities in various countries.

This organisation is a coalition of health, environmental, consumer, sustainable agriculture and other advocacy groups, working to end antibiotic misuse. The website has several background articles on antibiotic resistance, as well as a series of factsheets on how resistance can be particularly dangerous to vulnerable populations, such as those affected by HIV/AIDS or diabetes.

It has a useful archive of documents and reports on a variety of issues such as gene transfer, food contamination and animal husbandry.