It's time to move from debate to action with new mechanisms for funding research into diseases faced by developing countries.

Efforts to limit publication of controversial bird flu research could end up doing more harm than good.

Focussing on the steps needed to eradicate malaria, not just control it, can broaden and stimulate support for health research agendas.

Developing countries must be given all the scientific, technical and legal help they need to counter the growing trade in fake medicines.

Nanotechnology for health should not suffer the same fate as GM — potential health and environmental hazards should be monitored and regulated early on.

Integrating modern and traditional medicine requires breaking down the legal and regulatory barriers that disadvantage the poor.

At its global summit next week the G8 needs to build on the work of its predecessors, putting science and technology back at the heart of the international aid agenda.

Pressure is growing for a major shift in international intellectual property rules that addresses the interests of the poor.

Increasing access to affordable drugs in developing countries requires better government intervention, not less of it.

Proposals for a global treaty to boost research and development for neglected diseases by sidelining large pharmaceutical companies may appear utopian. But they highlight the urgent need for new ways of producing the medicines needed by the poor.